Centre drops Ban on construction in the coastal regions of Kerala

KOCHI:The state of Kerala will be experiencing more enhanced activities in the coastal regions where any kind of constructions of has been banned for several years. As the Centre has released the gazette notification on Coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-2018.

However the state will have to ready coastal zone management plans (CZMP) for all coastal districts and local bodies that come under the purview of the notification, before planning any activity. It could also trigger environmental damage in the coastal region.

“We have a lot of strict rules, but we are very poor in implementing them and this is what we will have to look into. But, how can it be done as KCZMA is poorly equipped without enough staff. Most members are nominated,” said senior scientist at National Centre for Earth Sciences KK Ramachandran.

Advocate S Sahasranaman, who is a legal expert on CRZ had said that, “Now, all of it has to be revised. Plans have to be made on a war footing as the notification clearly says that there is no implementation of the new rules without the plan.”

The senior fellow at the Bengaluru-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment Priyadarsanan Dharmarajan had said, “Already over 3,000 acres have been encroached upon in the past seven years, which has impacted the waterbody, marine life and also the wetland area.”

One of the areas that has not been addressed is the private mangroves. Around 50% of the mangroves in the state comes under private property. “But the private mangroves don’t seem to attract the buffer clause and we in Kerala are also unaware of the total area of private mangroves here,” Ramachandran said.