‘Coastal areas turning toxic’

Nearly 16 months after it was submitted to the Union environment ministry, an expert committee report recommending complete revamping of coastal regulation system came in the public domain Monday after a Chief Information Commission order. Apart from pointing out indiscriminate mining and dredging in coastal areas that destroyed flora and fauna, the report, which the environment ministry refused to put in public domain until now, observed that unchecked dumping and disposal of sewage, effluents and solid waste in marine waters and coastal areas has made several stretches toxic.

The work on this report was started in June 2014 after the environment ministry constituted a committee under Mr Shailesh Nayak, the then secretary of ministry of earth sciences, to look into the shortcomings in the revised 2011 coastal regulation zone (CRZ) notification.

The country got its first coastal regulation zone in 1991, which gave powers to the central government to restrict industrial activities along the 7,500-kilometre-long coastline. However, later, in view of environmental concerns it had to be amended.

The committee in January 2015 submitted to the ministry its 110-page report titled: “Report of the Committee to Review the Issues relating to the Coastal Regulation Zone, 2011”, a month after which environmentalist Kanchi Kohli sought access to it. The ministry, however, denied it on grounds that the government had not approved it.

The Shailesh Nayak committee report recommended, to mention a few, devolution of powers to local bodies, development of eco-tourism and reclamation of the sea bed in CRZ area for lager public interest linked infrastructure like ports, bridges or installations related to coastal security.

Alongside it urged the environment ministry to “embark upon new initiatives for protecting and conserving the coastal and marine areas which have such precious and fragile ecosystems”.

“It is a fact that the coastal cities are growing but there is inadequate solid waste management or sewage treatment facilities to address the pollution-related problems. If left unattended, the implications would be serious and could be irreversible. The State Pollution Control Boards should be entrusted to take up the Government’s initiative of ‘Swachchh Bharat Abhiyaan’ (Clean India Mission) in the coastal and marine waters as well,” the report asserted.