CHENNAI: The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered an interim stay on the public hearings scheduled this month in all coastal districts as the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) maps were deemed incomplete.
The tribunal, while impleading National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) and the Department of Fisheries and fishermen welfare association, has ordered the authorities to re-work and publish the draft CZMP which is complete in the public portal after which, the date of public hearing may be fixed for each of the coastal districts.
The counsel for State Coastal Zone Management Authority (SCZMA) said the report which should have come from the Department of Fisheries regarding the fishing zones, fish breeding areas, fishing village boundaries etc which were omitted from the maps and were cause of key concern, was not yet provided.
To this, the tribunal had directed the department of fisheries and fishermen welfare associations to furnish the necessary particulars that are required by the SCZMA in the process of finalising the CZMP, as expeditiously as possible.
Meanwhile, the petitioners Jesu Rethinam and K Saravanan filed another two petitions pertaining to lapses in Pudukkottai and Ramanathapuram, which actually prompted the tribunal to stay public hearing in all the districts. On Friday, Deepak S Bilgi, member secretary of SCZMA, personally appeared before the tribunal and said it was always not possible to publish the CZMPs that are 100% complete and requested allowing the public hearing.
However, the bench comprising judicial member Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member K Satyagopal said when specific omissions are pointed out, the authorities are duty-bound to consider the same and publish the CZMP before they go for the public hearing.
The authorities have already given an undertaking before the Madras HC to carry out the same exercise as early as February 2020. “Admittedly, the high court directions were not complied with by the authorities. Therefore, it would be appropriate for the SCZMA to postpone the public hearing till such time the draft CZMP which is complete in all respects is published. Hence, we stay the orders of public hearing announced by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board..”, the order reads.
The next date of the hearing is on October 4.