Draft final CZMP for Kerala likely to be ready by next month

A CZMP approved by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is required for the State to take advantage of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Rules, 2019, which comes with a relaxed legal regime

The field verification process of the remaining districts will be over by the second week of January. The Authority had received nearly 35,000 representations and suggestions from the general public during the public hearing of the draft CZMP, said those privy to the developments. File | Photo Credit: Thulasi Kakkat

The draft final version of the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) of the 10 coastal districts of the State is likely to be ready by January, 2024.

A CZMP approved by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is required for the State to take advantage of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Rules, 2019, which comes with a relaxed legal regime. Till then, the CRZ Rules 2011 will be in force. The coastal dwellers as well as those intending to put up buildings and projects along the sea coast of the State had been demanding relaxation in norms, which would give them more room for construction, repair and re-construction of houses and commercial buildings.

The Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority and the National Centre for Earth Science Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, have completed the field verification of complaints it received from the coastal districts. The public hearing grievance report, which was prepared based on the complaints and subsequent field verifications, is ready for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam and Kasaragod districts.

The field verification process of the remaining districts will be over by the second week of January. The Authority had received nearly 35,000 representations and suggestions from the general public during the public hearing of the draft CZMP, said those privy to the developments.

The classification and translation of the complaints into English was the first major challenge before the authorities. Most of the complaints received at the public hearings pertained to the presence or absence of mangrove vegetation on holdings and the marking of the High Tide Line (HTL), the area till the water level rises during a spring tide.

The presence of mangroves and demarcating the HTL are crucial factors when it comes to determining the extent of CRZ-influenced areas. Then, there were representations of the presence of bunds or sluice gates along the tidal-influenced water bodies. The bunds/sluice gates that were in existence before 1991 will be considered for demarcating the CRZ areas as the government had marked them as HTL in the CRZ rules, experts said.

A comprehensive report after looking into the complaints raised during the public hearing and subsequent field inspections will be submitted to a technical committee for approval. Later, the reports cleared by the committee will be submitted to the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Chennai. The documents cleared by the Centre will be forwarded to the Union Ministry for approval. The process is expected to take at least one month to complete, experts said.