Centre ready with new rules for development along the seashore

The government is ready with a notification that will replace the existing Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 1991 with a Coastal Management Zone.

In a move that could radically alter development along the Indian coastline, the government is ready with a notification that will replace the existing Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 1991 with a Coastal Management Zone. Under this, the area available for development near the coast will be defined on 8220;scientific principles8221; based on the location rather than the current system of a blanket ban in a 500-m line from the sea.

Funds from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank are being tapped into to set up institutional mechanisms to implement the management plans.

The notification is based on the Swaminathan committee report submitted in February 2005.

As the government puts the notification for public comment in a few days, four institutes are mapping the 8220;vulnerability line8221; in four locations in India as a pilot project8212; Gujarat, Mangalore, Orissa and Tamil Nadu.

Once the line is drawn for each of these areas, this will define development on the seaward side of the line.

8216;8216;This is the first time that any country will be mapping its entire coast. In countries like the US and New Zealand, it is only the inhabited areas that are mapped,8217;8217; said an official. Two parameters will be considered 8212; flooding and erosion. The four institutes involved are Institute of Ocean Management, Survey of India, Centre for Earth Science Study and Space Application Centre. The vulnerability line could range from 0 metres to 10 km.

The Swaminathan committee proposed four Coastal Management Zones CMZ:

8226; CMZ I: Ecologically sensitive areas

8226; CMZ II: Areas of Particular Concern such as economically important areas, high-population areas and culturally/strategically important areas.

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8226; CMZ III: all other open areas, including coastal areas, excluding those classified as CMZ-I, CMZ-II and CMZ -IV.

8226; CMZ IV: Andaman and Nicobar islands and Lakshadweep.