The Center has undertaken the revision exercise for the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) Notification 2011, which will relax the norms so as to regularise the houses of fishermen located along the country’s coastline. It may be recalled that the traditional fisher folk residing within 500 metres of the high tide line along the state’s coastline from Arambol to Canacona are facing threat to their dwellings by way of the particular notification. Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javdekar, addressing a group of pressmen from Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat, who are attending a training workshop on parliamentary practices, in the national capital, on Wednesday said that the government wants to protect the marine ecology and fishermen are part of it. Therefore, there is no need for them to fear about the future of their households, he added. Javdekar also said that the related Shailesh Nayak committee report has been submitted to his ministry and the government is looking into its recommendations. We are also preparing guidelines linked to this issue and they would be ready in a month’s time, Javdekar added, informing that his ministry has completed the work of photographing in high resolution all 7,500-km Indian coastline including 1,300 islands, of which 60 have habitation, and all this area can now be easily identified with the help of survey numbers. This has also put an end to all confusion that existed about Coastal Zone Regulation including 200 mts line, 400 mts line and so on, he said. Speaking further, Javdekar said that the Center is also aiming to bring down the period required to give environmental clearances for various projects including industrial projects from 600 days to 100 days. Presently, we have brought down this period to 190 days, with conditions of course, through decentralization, easy procedures and standardization, he said, maintaining that even though the permissions would now come easily, if any promoter is found to be violating the rules, then he will have to face heavier penalties for which a Bill on Civil Penalties is being prepared that could be tabled during the ongoing session of the Parliament.
www.navhindtimes.in 2011