Coastal Regulation Zone
Source : The Hindu
GS III : Environment
What is discussed under Coastal Regulation Zone?
- Key Facts
- Projects Violated Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules
Why in News?
An audit has identified dozens of public and private projects that have breached India’s coastal regulations — beach resorts, ports, roads, a racetrack, and even a jail near an Olive Ridley turtle nesting site.
Key Facts
- CAG’s audit report on the conservation of coastal ecosystems was released.
Photo by Aleksandra Boguslawska on Unsplash - According to the report, 14 out of 43 sampled projects had received the environment ministry’s approval without a full analysis of the mandatory EIA.
- In the 14 projects, the EIA studies had failed to identify key biodiversity in the project areas and did not include mitigation measures to alleviate the risks faced by the biodiversity there.
- Flagged deficiencies in the Union environment ministry’s project approval mechanisms and lapses by state coastal regulatory authorities that threaten efforts to conserve coastal ecosystems.
- Also cited instances of marine pollution from a poorly functioning sewage treatment plant in Digha that is releasing polluted water into the sea and from the Veraval fishing harbour in Gujarat that is discharging untreated effluents into the sea.
Projects Violated Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules
- Ajail complex near Bangar in Odisha, within the Balukhand-Konark Wildlife Sanctuary that has an Olive Ridley turtle nesting site on the beach, resorts in Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu), the Vembanad lake region (Kerala), an illegal road in Udupi (Karnataka), and a racetrack in Pattipulam (Tamil Nadu).
- A 35km coastal road from Princess Flyover to Worli in Mumbai, approved by the environment ministry in 2017, and a Mumbai trans harbour sea-link approved in 2015 are among projects that have used outdated baseline data during the environmental impact assessment (EIA).
- 28 CRZ clearances by the environment ministry between 2015 and 2019, 118 project clearances by state bodies, and 128 CRZ violations reported to states.
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