Revised coastal zone management plan approved, 11,000-acre wetland added


Though the approval was granted in October, the Department of Environment has uploaded the 117 CZMP maps of all the 13 coastal districts in the State in its official website only now.

CHENNAI: The Union Environment Ministry has approved the revised Tamil Nadu Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) and it’s much-improved version with an additional 11,000 acres of ecologically sensitive coastal wetlands, which were earlier ‘suspiciously’ omitted, brought under the purview of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) regulation.

Though the approval was granted in October, the Department of Environment has uploaded the 117 CZMP maps of all the 13 coastal districts in the State in its official website only now. A closer look at the maps shows that vast tract of salts pans, measuring about 11,000 acres in Valinokkam village in Ramanathapuram, Manakudy Kayal in Kanniyakumari, wetlands of Vedanranyam lagoon in Nagapattinam and Villupuram, have been brought under CRZ.

“This was possible largely because of vigilant fisher folk who undertook ground-truthing exercises and questioned the authorities, submitting objections in writing and during public hearings,” said K Saravanan from Urur Kuppam fishing village in Chennai.

A Udhayan, Director, Department of Environment, told the Express, “I cannot specifically tell whether 11,000 acres of coastal wetlands were added to the original draft CZMP prepared by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), but definitely a significant area was brought under CRZ during the revision. We have addressed each and every objection received, both written and oral. Several rounds of discussions were held with authorities and exhaustive ground-truthing was done,” he said and applauded fishermen for bringing to light some of the genuine omissions in the draft.Read more

Source web page: New Indian Express


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