The Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules seem to hinder poor fishermen from realising their dream of building houses in Kumbalam-Panangad islands.
The fishermen community is of the opinion that they are not given any humanitarian consideration when authorities aggressively implement the CRZ norms in the area.
Many fishermen have been living near the backwaters as their occupation demands it, but of late the authorities decline to give permits when fishermen approach them for renovating their houses, said Kumbalam Fishermen Union secretary Vinayan.
Without house number and other required permits, the fisher folk would not get housing grants from the government.The rich would have their way. But for the poor, a house would remain a distant reality without the grants, said Panangad panchayat member Unnikrishnan. The brunt of CRZ is severely borne by the youngsters who want to construct new houses near their ancestral homes, mostly after marriage.
There is also change in pattern of land use and occupation in the area as the real estate groups have begun to eye the tourism potential of the land. Real estate groups are purchasing large areas of land in the CRZ area which belong to the fishermen community and has legal validity. They are offering as high as `8 lakh per cent in the area to lure fishermen into selling their plot and relocating to some other parts of the city, said Unnikrishnan.
Clearly, the trend could alter the economic geography and traditional occupation in the island for which it is famous for.
The New Indian Express, 2014