The Hindu : Front Page : States request more stringent Coastal Regulation Zone guidelines

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Monday, Jan 10, 2005

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Front Page

States request more stringent Coastal Regulation Zone guidelines

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JAN. 9. Following the tsunami disaster, some coastal States have unofficially approached the Centre to seek the strengthening of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification that regulates human activity within 500 metres of the High Tide Line.

A demand for "enhancing the capabilities" of the notification is also likely to be made by the Swaminathan Committee, formed last year to examine the existing CRZ norms. The committee had its final round of discussions here over the weekend and the report is awaited by the Union Environment and Forests Ministry.

While the Swaminathan Committee report may not come as a surprise to the Ministry, a demand for more stringent CRZ regulations by the States has surprised the Centre. Almost all the coastal States had opposed the norms and described them as an "infringement" on their powers. Now, at least two of the States affected by the tsunami are thinking in terms of making the regulations more stringent. The Ministry officials describe enhancing the capabilities of the notification as stricter guidelines and stringent punishments to check violations, and believe that the demand for strengthening of guidelines by the States will also ensure better enforcement.

Enforcement problems

There have been several problems in enforcing the CRZ guidelines since these were notified in February 1991. Apart from the State Governments, the opposition has come mainly from private developers and tourism promoters, leading to the relaxation of the original notification through about a dozen amendments. The major amendment was pushed through for the development of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) by allowing beach resorts and tourism-related recreational facilities.

As per the notification, the entire coast is divided into four zones depending on the density of the population and the ecology. In zone 1 fall most of the sensitive areas with mangroves and corals where no development is permitted up to 500 metres from the High Tide Line (HTL) and the land between the Low Tide Line. The HTL means the position on the land up to which the highest water line reaches during high tide.

Zone II includes town and cities where buildings are already touching the sea and this zone permits maximum development, while zone-III includes under-developed areas and tourist places where permission for development is allowed on a case-to-case basis. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep Islands fall in zone IV.

The Ministry also amended the notification to allow developmental activities for tourism on seven islands of the Andaman and Nicobar group and some in the Lakshadweep. The proposal is pending with the Union Tourism Ministry.

To enforce the provisions of the notification, the Ministry constituted a national and 13 State Coastal Zone Management Authorities that were entrusted with the work of enforcing the notification, though most of them had been "going slow" on enforcement and there were rampant violations.

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