RESEARCH SHOWS HUGE GAPS AND ERRORS BETWEEN MAPS AND COASTAL AREAS, SEVERAL VIOLATIONS IN CONSULTATION PROCEDURES
COASTAL GOVERNANCE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

The CPR-Namati Environmental Justice Program submitted comments on the Coastal Zone Management Plans (CZMPs) of Karnataka and Gujarat. The research identified huge gaps and errors between maps and coastal areas and several violations in consultation procedures.

CZMP, the reference document that guides development on the coast, is currently under preparation across the nine coastal states and four union territories (UTs) of India. The deadline for the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to approve the CZMPs was September 30, 2018. While the CZMPs of Karnataka, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Daman and Diu have been approved by the National Coastal Zone Management Authority, the plans for other states and UTs are currently in the making. The states of Maharashtra and West Bengal are incorporating the suggestions made by the National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA) and have received in-principal approval on their respective plans. Public consultations are currently ongoing in Gujarat, Goa and Andhra Pradesh.

Paralegals of the CPR-Namati Environmental Justice Program took part in the public consultations in the districts of Kachchh, Devbhumi Dwarka, Vapi and Gir Somnath in Gujarat and the Uttar Kannada district in Karnataka. They also submitted their comments to the respective State Coastal Zone Management Authorities highlighting the procedural violations, missed on-ground realities and other anomalies.

The submissions made to the Karnataka State Coastal Zone Management Authority regarding the draft CZMPs can be accessed here.

The submissions made to the Gujarat State Coastal Zone Management Authority can be accessed here.