Conservation of India's Coastal Ecosystem

Source: The Economic Times

Why in News?

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.

Why did the CAG conduct this Audit?

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.

How is the Center Responsible for Conserving the Coastline?

About:

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:

National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA) at the Centre

State/Union Territory Coastal Zone Management Authorities (SCZMAs/UTCZMAs) in every coastal State and Union Territory and

District Level Committees (DLCs) in every district that has a coastal stretch and where the CRZ notification is applicable.

Role of the Bodies:

These bodies examine if CRZ clearances granted by the government are as per procedure if project developers once given the go-ahead are complying with conditions, and if the project development objectives under the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Programme (ICZMP) are successful.

They also evaluate the measures taken up by the government towards achieving the targets under Sustainable Development Goals.

What did the Audit Find?

NCZMA as a Permanent Body:

The Environment Ministry hadn’t notified NCZMA as a permanent body and it was being reconstituted every few years.

In the absence of defined membership, it was functioning as an ad-hoc body.

Role of Expert Appraisal Committees:

There were instances of the Expert Appraisal Committees not being present during project deliberations.

EAC is a committee of scientific experts and senior bureaucrats who evaluate the feasibility of an infrastructure project and its environmental consequences.

There were also instances of the members of the EAC being fewer than half of the total strength during the deliberations.

SCZMAs not Constituted:

At state-level where the State Coastal Zone Management Authorities (SCZMAs) take decisions, the central auditor observed the instances where SCZMA granted clearance on its own without recommending the projects to relevant authorities.

Further, SCZMAs had recommended many projects without the submission of mandatory documents.

Approval of Projects despite Inadequacies:

There were instances of projects being approved despite inadequacies in the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) reports.

These included non-accredited consultants preparing the EIA, using outdated data, not evaluating the environmental impacts of the project, not appraising the disasters to which the project area was prone and so forth.

What Problems did the CAG find in the States?

Tamil Nadu didn’t have a strategy in place to conserve the Gulf of Mannar Islands.

In Goa, there was no system for monitoring coral reefs and no management plans to conserve turtle nesting sites.

In Gujarat, instruments procured to study the physiochemical parameters of soil and water of the inertial area of the Gulf of Kutch weren’t used.

Sea patrolling in Gahirmatha Sanctuary, in Kendrapara, Odisha did not happen.