INDIA’S COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS

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• Recently, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India tabled a report in Parliament on whether steps taken by the Union Environment Ministry to conserve India’s coastal ecosystems have been successful.
• This latest report contains the observations from an audit of Conservation of Coastal Ecosystems from 2015-20.
• The CAG has a constitutional mandate to investigate and report on publicly funded programmes.
• The CAG conducted “pre-audit studies” and found that there were large-scale Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) violations in the coastal stretches.
• Coastal land up to 500 metres from the High Tide Line (HTL) and a stage of 100m along banks of creeks, lagoons, estuaries, backwater and rivers subject to tidal fluctuations is called Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ).
• The media reported incidents of illegal construction activities (reducing beach space) and effluent discharged by local bodies, industries, and aquaculture farms that prompted a detailed investigation.
• The government has issued notifications under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, to regulate activities along India’s coasts particularly regarding construction.
• The Coastal Regulation Zone Notification (CRZ) 2019, implemented by the Ministry, classifies the coastal area into different zones to manage infrastructure activities and regulate them.

The three institutions responsible for the implementation of the CRZ are:

1. National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA) at the Centre
2. State/Union Territory Coastal Zone Management Authorities (SCZMAs/UTCZMAs) in every coastal State and Union Territory and
3. District Level Committees (DLCs) in every district that has a coastal stretch and where the CRZ notification is applicable.

Way Forward

• These reports are placed before the Standing Committees of Parliament, which select those findings and recommendations that they judge to be the most critical to public interest and arrange hearings on them.
• In this case, the Environment Ministry is expected to explain omissions pointed out by the CAG and make amends.

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT