Draft CRZ plan ready, development controls along Kerala coast to be eased

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Wednesday decided to forward the state's Draft Coastal Zone Management Plan 2019 for the approval of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Once the approval is secured, strict regulations that govern development along coastal areas will be relaxed in many grama panchayats.

The Draft has been drawn based on the Centre's Coastal Regulation Zone notification, 2019, and has the approval of the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority.

Already, the Centre has approved the conversion of 66 grama panchayats with urban features in Kerala to CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone)-II, areas with relatively fewer regulations, from the highly regulated CRZ-III. CRZ-I is the most regulated coastal area.

Kerala had originally wanted CRZ norms to be relaxed in 175 grama panchayats with urban features. The Cabinet on Wednesday decided to once again request the Centre to include the remaining 109 panchayats also within CRZ II.

CRZ-II
This zone has fewer regulations compared to CRZ-III. Sixty-six panchayats that were earlier in CRZ-III will soon enjoy certain relaxations provided in CRZ-II.

This zone constitutes the developed land areas up to or close to the shoreline and would be within the existing municipal limits or in other existing legally designated urban areas, which are substantially built-up with a ratio of built-up plots to that of total plots of more than 50 per cent. In other words, in CRZ-II areas there would be more buildings than vacant land.

CRZ-III
Land areas that are relatively undisturbed, particularly rural areas, and those which do not fall under CRZ-II, will constitute CRZ–III. This zone has been sub-classified into CRZ-III A and CRZ-III B.

CRZ-III A
Densely populated CRZ-III areas, where the population density is more than 2161 per square kilometre as per the 2011 census, are designated as CRZ–III A. In this zone, an area up to 50 meters from the High Tide Line (HTL), or the maximum distance travelled by a rising tide, on the landward side shall be earmarked as the ‘No Development Zone (NDZ)’.

CRZ-III B
All other CRZ-III areas with a population density of less than 2161 per square kilometre, as per the 2011 census, are designated as CRZ-III B. Here, the area up to 200 meters from the HTL on the landward side shall be earmarked as the ‘No Development Zone (NDZ)’.

CRZ-I
CRZ-1 areas are environmentally most critical and are subdivided into CRZ-I A and CRZ-I B.

CRZ-I A
Under this falls ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs) whose geomorphological features play a role in maintaining the integrity of the coast. They include mangroves, corals and coral reefs, dunes, biologically active mudflats, salt marshes, turtle nesting grounds, horseshoe crabs’ habitats, seagrass beds, nesting grounds of birds, areas or structures of archaeological importance and heritage sites, national parks, marine parks, sanctuaries, reserve forests, wildlife habitats and other protected areas under the provisions of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

CRZ-I B
Under this falls the intertidal zone, which is the area between the Low Tide Line and High Tide Line.

Extra benefits
Here are the other advantages that would come to Kerala once the Centre approves the Draft Coastal Zone Management Plan. One, 'pokkali' fields and nearby areas would be fully exempt from CRZ regulations.

Two, the buffer zone around mangroves near private lands would be removed. Three, the 'no development zone' around inland waterways will be reduced to 50 metres from 100 metres.

The draft notification was prepared by the National Centre for Earth Science Studies.