Some major exclusions and irregularities figure in the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) prepared by the Department of Environment and Climate Change and the National Centre for Earth Science Studies, allege environmentalists.
“The draft plan is not in accordance with the guidelines set out in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification. Instead of preserving and protecting ecologically sensitive coastal stretches, the plan may lead to unrestricted development in vulnerable areas. It is not easy to revise the CZMP once it is approved,” says V.K. Madhusoodan, a member on the environment committee of the Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad.
In view of the unique coastal systems of Kerala, the State receives some extra leeway and the draft has no mention of it.
“According to Section 5 of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms, all islands in the backwaters of the State are covered under CRZ notifications. In Kerala, the width from High Tide Line (HTL) on the landward side of backwater islands is 50 m whereas it is 100 m in other places. In Kerala, within 50 m from the HTL of these islands no new constriction is permitted. But existing dwellings of local community can be repaired or reconstructed,” said Mr. Madhusoodan, adding that the proposals to solve the problems of the fishing community and coastal population were also missing from the draft.
Omissions in mangrove mapping
Major omissions in mangrove mapping is another drawback of the draft prepared for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Kottayam districts.
“While every single mangrove plant comes under CRZ 1(A), the draft has only provisions to protect mangrove stretches spread in an area above 25 cents. Moreover, some main mangrove stretches at Veli, Asramam, and Kumarakom are missing from the draft.
The mangrove area in Thiruvananathapurm is over 30 hectares and in Kottayam it is around 100 hectares. But in the draft it is just one hectare in both the places. Instead of the 122 hectares in Kollam, the draft features 88 hectares only. While Kollam has over 15 mangrove varieties that draft finds only three,” he points out. He also adds that the draft has divided Ashtamudi Lake into Ashtamudi, Kanjorodu, Kumbalam, Kandachira and Kureepuzha which is not in accordance with the Ramsar Site norms.
