Thiruvananthapuram: The state government has finally prepared the draft of the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) as part of implementing the amended Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Act of 2019. The draft of the Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Kottayam districts has been published as part of the first phase, following continuous efforts for the last three years. As many as two corporations, five municipalities, and 54 panchayats fall within the CRZ zones across these three districts.

The CRZ plan for the remaining seven districts that come under the ambit of the Act is slated to be published in the coming days. The public can suggest changes or raise complaints about the draft notifications within 30 days of their publication.

The Central Government issued a notification amending the Coastal Regulation Zone Act on January 18, 2019. The delay in issuing the draft notification was attributed to the time involved in exerting pressure on availing exemption to those panchayats having an urban character. As many as 60 panchayats in Kerala could thus be included in the zone having lesser regulations.

The draft notification was prepared by the National Centre for Earth Science Studies. The draft notifications, currently published on the official website of the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority, will also soon be made available to the local administrative bodies concerned. Suggestions and complaints can be submitted through a form provided on the website.

Classification of zones
Four types of Coastal Regulation Zones have been proposed in line with the nature of the coastal regions. The character of each zone is as follows:

· CRZ 1: The coastal region that is most ecologically fragile.
· CRZ 2: The developed regions that lie close to coastal areas in urban centres.
· CRZ 3: Locations that lie close to coastal regions in rural areas.
· CRZ 4: A tidal water body, which is influenced by the ebb and flow of the tides.

The Coastal Zone Management Plan is an essential document for the implementation of the amended Coastal Regulation Zone 2019 (CRZ) notification issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on January 18, 2019.