KOCHI: A day after the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) granted approval to the new Coastal Regulation Zone Management Plan prepared by the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority (KCZMA), the construction industry welcomed the plan, but the environment activists cautioned that the relaxation would lead to the destruction of biodiversity.
KCZMA member P Kalaiarasan, who attended the meeting on Monday, said the MoEF had accepted the relaxations proposed by Kerala. “The National Coastal Zone Management Authority will release the minutes of the meeting within a few days after which the ministry will issue orders. We expect the new management plan to be implemented within 10 days,” he said.
The KCZMA has prepared 87 maps for implementation of the management plan for 10 districts where the CRZ is applicable. Once the minutes of the meeting are approved, the National Centre for Earth Science Studies, Kerala government, Scrutiny Committee and the MoEF have to sign the maps which will be published on the KCZMA website and sent to the local bodies concerned.
The MoEF will issue the notification after the process is completed. The state government’s demand to include 175 grama panchayats in CRZ category II was not considered as the NCZMA said it could consider only proposals made prior to the 2019 notification.
“The new management plan is a welcome development as it has removed uncertainty over development activities in coastal areas. We had been pleading withe the state government in this regard for a long time. Many projects were delayed as the KCZMA used to reject all project proposals and we were forced to approach the court which was a time-consuming process. We have only a few waterfront projects in Kerala.
More than builders, the common man was put to hardship to get approval for a housing project. Under the new plan, projects on the landward side of a road or an existing building line in urban areas can get approval,” said Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI) governing council member M V Antony Kunnel.
Green activists said there had to be a clarification on the implementation of a no-development zone for the 1,600 backwater islets in the state. As per the 2019 notification, islands with an area of over 10 ha should have an integrated Island Management Plan. Such islands will have a no-development zone of 20 m. If the management plan is not approved, the islands will have a no-development zone of 50 m as per the 2011 notification.
The removal of a no-development zone in urban areas falling under CRZ II is disappointing, said former chairman of Kerala Biodiversity Board V S Vijayan.
87 maps for mgmt plan
The KCZMA has prepared 87 maps for implementation of the management plan for 10 districts where the CRZ is applicable
Once the minutes of the meeting are approved, the National Centre for Earth Science Studies, Kerala government, Scrutiny Committee and the MoEF have to sign the maps