[Reader-list] NFF, KSMTF reject Draft CRZ notification

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NFF, KSMTF reject Draft CRZ notification

Express News ServiceFirst Published : 21 Oct 2010

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The National Fish Workers Forum (NFF) and the
Kerala Swathanthra Matsya Thozhilali Federation (KSMTF) rejected the
draft Coastal Zone Regulation (CRZ) Notification-2010.


In memorandums submitted to Ministry of Environment and Forest,
President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA
Chairperson Sonia Ghandhi, they have listed out reasons for the
rejection of the draft CRZ notification.

Some of the reasons are:

(1) The draft notification is only marginally different from the
pre-draft, which was rejected by the fishing communities.

(2) The NFF had strongly argued in favour of going back to the basics
of the original 1991 notification, which was based on the fundamental
principle that only those activities should be permitted in the CRZ,
which require the waterfront and foreshore facilities. Unfortunately,
the draft continues to legitimise all the activities, which do not
have such a justification and have crept into the notification over
the years.

(3) In addition to retaining all past dilutions to the CRZ, the new
draft also adds new activities that are permissible. Some of the new
additions include ‘roads on stilts’,including in mangrove areas of
CRZ-I.

(4) An important suggestion to strengthen the CRZ is to look into
cumulative impacts of permissible projects before according sanction
to new projects. The Swaminathan Committee had recommended a
cumulative impact study on ports and a moratorium till that is done.
Unfortunately, the Ministry has not done any cumulative study and has
come up with a peculiar formulation to permit ports in ‘stable coasts’
that are not subject to erosion.