An informal forum of fishers, coastal communities and subject experts are meeting in the city on Thursday to raise their objections to the recommendation of govt-led committee led by additional chief secretary Venu V in its draft coastal zone management plan (CZMP).
The discussion will be held at the Achutha Menon Hall on Ernakulam Public Library compound at 2pm. According to the organizers, the Kerala High Court had recommended an integrated fishery development plan in Kerala. However, no discussions have been held, neither with the fishers nor the local communities when the Venu committee report was submitted and accepted by the government.
A people’s commission on CRZ has been formed to take this discussion forward to the government and its draft of demands will be discussed on Thursday. The main demand is that all coastal gram panchayats should be brought under the CRZ IIIA category. The density of population prescribed in CRZ 2019 is 2,061 for panchayats to be included under CRZ III A. This may be reduced to 1,500 considering the demographic patterns of fishers and coastal communities. “The clause to recategorize 175 coastal gram panchayats as CRZ II in the GO No. 2/2022/ENVT on March 24 is unacceptable. It should be withdrawn,” said the people’s commission.
Among the other demands are getting Integrated Island Management Plans prepared for all inhabited backwater islands, as directed in the CRZ 2019, with due participation and meaningful involvement of local bodies and fisher community organizations. This may be prepared for cluster of islands.
Punargeham project, which aims at the rehabilitation of fishermen families residing within 50m from hightide line, may be redesigned with location specific differential funding and taking people into confidence. “The recommendations were based on the discussions among the fishers and other local communities with the help of NGOs, social scientists and fisheries experts,” said Charles George of the organizing committee.