The Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP) has welcomed the State government’s move to appoint a three-member committee to look into issues that may crop up on account of the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan under the Coastal Regulation Zone notification of 2019.
The Parishad, however, expressed concern over the members of the committee that had been constituted, among others, to look into livelihood and safety issues of fishers, said a press release here.
It said that the government had appointed the committee through an order dated July 1 to study the draft prepared by the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS).
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The Parishad’s reservation is that one of the members of the committee is a Delhi-based consultant on environmental impact of various projects. The member is also a consultant to real estate developers, builders of resorts, and quarry owners. It is not appropriate to make such a person a member of the committee, the release said.
Another member is a legal advocate of violators of coastal zone regulations, the Parishad alleged. The release claimed that the two would not be able to represent the views and interests of the fishing community, as they were in no way related to the sector. A democratic government should ensure that the interests of the fishing community, now reeling under climate change and other adverse conditions, are protected, said O.M. Shankaran, president, and P. Gopakumar, general secretary of the Parishad, in a statement on Sunday.