VISAKHAPATNAM: Visakhapatnam has a coastline stretching over 130 km and a population of roughly 20 lakh. Yet, when a public hearing was held on Wednesday on a plan that will determine how development is regulated along the coast, hardly 100 people turned up, with officials and other stakeholders making up a sizeable portion of the gathering.
Held at the VMRDA Children’s Arena, the consultation was part of the process of finalising the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP)-2019 for the district under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2019.
The exercise involves mapping coastal areas and determining the regulations governing development and land use along them.
The Environmental Public Consultation was organised by the Andhra Pradesh Coastal Zone Management Authority (APCZMA) and the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB).
The draft CZMP for the State’s coastline was prepared by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai, an agency authorised by the Centre.
Visakhapatnam District Collector M Abhishikth Kishore noted that around 50 written representations had already been received, besides submissions made on Wednesday.
“All the objections and suggestions received from the public will be recorded in written and video formats and submitted to the concerned state-level authority,” he said.
The State government will examine the representations before forwarding the draft plan to the national-level authority for review and approval. The CRZ-2019 framework will come into force after the prescribed approval process is completed.
Officials explained the four CRZ categories CRZ-1, 2, 3 and 4 and the changes introduced under the 2019 notification compared with the 2011 framework.
Participants were then invited to place their objections and suggestions on the draft maps.
The limited participation also prompted questions among some environmentalists and experts about public awareness of the exercise. They pointed out that the notification and related material were available in English, while a Telugu version could have helped make the technical regulations more accessible to a wider section of the local population.
Experts also questioned the limited visibility of the hearing on social media platforms, which have increasingly become an important channel for disseminating information about government projects and public events.
“People often realise the implications of coastal regulations only when restrictions affect their own land or livelihood.
There is a need for greater public awareness and a more responsible effort to understand the rules governing the fragile surroundings in which they live,” an expert observed.