Fisherfolk in India have strongly objected to the draft notification issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on November 1 to make amendments into the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2019.
The ministry had proposed eight amendments to CRZ notification, 2019 seeking to delegate powers of giving CRZ clearance to the State Coastal Management Zone Management Authority, exempting statutory CRZ clearance for the exploratory drilling operations, and removal of sand bars from the shoreline, acting on representations given by the state governments and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) channelled through Director General of HydroCarbons (DGH). The National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA) had also recommended in favour of these amendments during its 42nd meeting held on March 23, 2021.
National Fishworkers’ Forum’s youth representative Jones Thomas Spartagus told TNIE the amendments are intended to dilute the restrictions on oil, gas and hydrocarbon extraction projects in the Ecological Sensitive Area (ESA) and territorial waters that encapsulates mangroves, swamps, lagoons and traditional fishing grounds. Most of the oil reserves and explorations are carried out in territorial waters that extend up to 12 nautical mile from the shoreline, he said.
On the amendment delegating powers to the union government for granting CRZ clearance proposed at the CRZ-1 and CRZ-IV areas, Jone contended that the union is taking the rights of the State government as CRZ-1 and CRZ-IV areas fall under the control of state governments. “It is a transgression on state sovereignty”, he pointed out.
The fishermen leaders said exempting oil and gas exploration projects from obtaining prior CRZ clearance, show its least concern towards the livelihood of the fishermen. As the previous experience of exploratory drilling operations have proved to be disastrous in the coastal areas, the projects must undergo the CRZ clearance process, they said.
Another controversy is the amendment to remove the sandbars from the coast which are formed naturally along the intertidal areas. The fishermen say the sand bars function as eco-barriers that prevent the fishing hamlets from extreme events, besides maintaining the ecological balance. Such an amendment would open floodgates for the illegal sand miners, they said. “Removal of the sand bars lead to rapid coastal erosion and threaten nesting of seashore birds and endangered turtles which are protected under schedules of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972”, said a fisherman from Vembar.
Read more:
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2022/jan/06/fishermen-oppose-amendments-to-coastal-regulation-zone-notificationcite-damage-to-ecosystem-commu-2403722.html