CHENNAI: Between 2015 and 2022, the Tamil Nadu Coastal Zone Management Authority (TNCZMA) has granted coastal regulation zone (CRZ) clearances “incorrectly” to 114 out of 175 projects (65%) without forwarding them to appropriate authorities such as the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) or the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) for approval, according to the CAG report.
This has resulted in inadequate scrutiny of project proposals, allowing non-permissible activities to proceed in ecologically sensitive areas. Of the 22 projects scrutinised by the audit, 19 were cleared directly by TNCZMA in violation of CRZ notification.
During joint inspections and analysis of Google Earth images, CAG identified 90 unauthorised constructions within the No Development Zone of CRZ III, which includes areas within 200m of the High Tide Line. The government stated in June 2023 that measures were being taken to improve monitoring, but CAG deemed these efforts insufficient as violations continued to escape detection.
The audit also noted that CRZ clearances were often granted without mandatory documents. For instance, in 23 out of 30 projects requiring discharge of effluents, no objection certificates (NOCs) from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) were not obtained. Additionally, several harbour and foreshore facility projects were approved without assessing shoreline erosion risks.
In one instance, TNCZMA granted clearance in 2018 for a cold storage unit at Kunthukal, located in CRZ I and IV areas where such activities are explicitly prohibited. Similarly, four fishing harbour projects were approved without considering shoreline change data. These approvals contradicted instructions from both the MoEF&CC and the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which had directed the preparation of a comprehensive shoreline protection management plan. Despite this directive being issued in 2015, the plan remained incomplete as of March 2023.
The CAG report further criticised the state for failing to involve local traditional coastal communities in district coastal zone management authorities (DCZMAs), as mandated by the CRZ notification. This exclusion persisted even 11 years after the notification’s implementation. The report also highlighted the delay in preparing Coastal Zone Management Plans (CZMPs). Public complaints about CRZ violations were also inadequately addressed, with limited action taken on documented cases.
TNCZMA member secretary AR Rahul Nadh told TNIE that many of the issues pointed out in the CAG report have been addressed. “We have included fishermen representatives in DCZMAs, and the delay in CZMPs was due to litigation in NGT. We will be completing the revision of the maps in a month’s time and go for public hearing shortly.”
On inappropriate approval of CRZ clearances, he said the government had replied to CAG. In the report, it was mentioned that the state, in March 2023, told CAG that the projects were being forwarded for clearance to appropriate authorities from April 2022 onwards.