CHENNAI: None of the 65 shrimp hatcheries on East Coast Road (ECR) in Chengalpet and Villupuram districts have obtained the mandatory Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance. Officials of Tamil Nadu Coastal Zone Management Authority and Department of Environment confirmed that between 2005 and 2019, they have neither issued or discussed granting of CRZ clearance to shrimp hatcheries in the State.
The information was obtained through RTI by environmental activist Pooja Kumar of Coastal Resource Centre. Though the CRZ notification 2011 lists hatcheries as permitted activity within certain permissible zones of the CRZ, it is subject to prior appraisal and recommendation from the State’s Coastal Zone Management Authority (SCZMA) and requires clearance from statutory authority.
The coastal aquaculture industry is also specifically regulated by the Coastal Aquaculture Authority (CAA) Act 2005. Rules framed under this Act prohibit the setting up of all coastal aquaculture facilities, including hatcheries, within 200 m of the High Tide Line (HTL) in coastal areas. Moreover, aquaculture activities beyond 200 m of HTL requires statutory licenses from the CAA.
Following site verification, the Coastal Resource Centre has published a 33-page report titled ‘Below the Radar’, according to which 62 of the 65 hatcheries were operational within 200m of the HTL in blatant violation of the provisions in the CAA Act, and none of the hatcheries even had a valid ‘consent to establish’ under the Operate under Water and Air Acts. Compounding the situation, four hatcheries operate in ecologically sensitive CRZ 1A areas (sand dunes).
When contacted, senior officials of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) told Express that hatcheries are dealt with under the CAA Act, and a former official of Tamil Nadu Coastal Zone Management Authority said it is a huge grey area. “Hatcheries are not as polluting as other industries, but still they need mandatory licenses,” the former official added.
K Saravanan, one of the authors of the report and who photo documented the violations, says, “Detailed survey of coastal aquaculture hatcheries along all districts in Tamil Nadu must be undertaken and compliance to CRZ Notification, CAA Act and Water and Air Acts of all hatcheries along TN coast must be verified urgently. Those found in violation must be removed and natural state of area restored.”
Hatcheries releasing untreated discharge into ecologically sensitive intertidal CRZ areas is a common sight all along the ECR. Aquaculture effluent usually contains pharmaceutical waste as medicines are used to prevent infections in the cultured animals. “Untreated effluent mixed with chemicals when discharged into intertidal areas affects health of intertidal life and pollutes near shore waters and in turn marine life,” activists claim.