THOOTHUKUDI: Amid the ongoing back-and-forth over the areas that missed out on the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) map, fishermen of Punnakayal hamlet themselves drafted a map and handed it over to District Revenue Officer (DRO) Ajay Seenivasan during the grievance redressal meeting held at the Collectorate on Monday.
Stating that the last CZMP map, based on the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification of 2019, had failed to mark fish drying fields, net repair centres, mooring areas, settlements, fisheries, and future expansion plans, the fishermen urged the state government to consider the map drafted by them.
"We are not ready to let go of these areas, even though the government has failed to recognise them. So, we drafted a CZMP map of Punnakayal hamlet using the Geographical Information System (GIS), to protect the social structure, hamlet and our livelihood," read the petition submitted by the fishermen.
Led by Punnakayal Oor Nirvaga committee, the fishermen noted the NGT order that has directed the state to include them in drafting the CZMP map along with the fisheries department and the forest, environment, and climate change ministry.
The fishermen said that they also want the district administration to corroborate the information through a field visit, and include the detail in the state CZMP. The draft map was handed over to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and the assistant director of fisheries the same day.