The Union government has taken note of the concerns raised by the government of Kerala over the coastal regulation zone norms and has directed an expert committee to come up with a mechanism to address the issue, said Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of State for Environment.
Talking to presspersons on the sidelines of a function here on Saturday, he said the committee would take an appropriate decision after meeting the stakeholders. At the same time, equal emphasis would be given to the protection of the coasts, he said.
The committee, set up to look into demands from several coastal States for easing the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms, is headed by Shailesh Nayak, Ministry Secretary. Regarding the airport project at Aranmula, Mr. Javadekar said the Union government had never given a nod to the proposal. Of the three levels of clearance the project required, it did not even get through the first level, he said. Fisheries Minister K. Babu, while presiding over the function to launch three social security schemes of the Union government, urged Mr. Javadekar to fast-track the expert’s committee’s functioning so as its recommendations could be implemented in a time-bound manner. “The existing CRZ Act causing undue hardship to our people, especially the fisher folk. Let alone construction of buildings, they are not even able to repair their homes due to the Act,” Mr. Babu said.
Mr. Javadekar said the government would take everybody along to ensure development of the country. “We have already held several rounds of meetings with the Kerala Chief Minister and others in this regard,” he said.
Union Minister of State for Environment says no clearance given to Aranmula airport project
