The long-standing issue of preparing a long-term housing plan for fishermen in Tamil Nadu has been caught in a web of bureaucratic delays and inter-departmental inefficiencies, an RTI reply obtained by a fisherman showed.
A series of communications between the Department of Environment, Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority (TNSCZMA), and the Department of Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare indicated that each was trying to pass the buck to the other. Despite clear guidelines under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification 2019, the preparation of the plan remains stalled.
According to the Chennai Climate Action Plan 2023, several traditional fishing villages in Chennai — from Ennore Kuppam to Nainarkuppam — are under severe threat from sea-level rise and coastal erosion by 2050. The CRZ Notification 2019 mandates the preparation of a long-term housing plan for fishermen to be included in the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP). Under Annexure-IV (5)(iii) of the notification, state governments are required to address the vulnerabilities of fishing communities caused by climate-induced disasters and ensure their resettlement.
In an order, the southern bench of the National Green Tribunal had directed the state to prepare and include the housing plan before notifying the draft CZMP, but no concrete steps have been taken even after a year.
In a letter dated May 4, 2024, Fisheries Department secretary Shunchonngam Jatak Chiru told the member-secretary of TNSCZMA that there were 608 coastal fishing villages in the state and the preparation for a long-term housing plan required an inter-departmental approach and his department lacked the expertise and manpower.
On May 28, a TNSCZMA meeting was held on the preparation of draft CZMPs during which the chairman of the authority insisted that the fisheries department prepare the plan.
On October 22, environment secretary P Senthilkumar wrote to fisheries secretary saying if the department lacked the expertise, the long-term housing plan can be prepared through accredited agencies like National Centre for Coastal Research or National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management who not only have sufficient manpower and expertise but have prepared similar plans in other states.
Fishermen’s associations are upset over the government’s inaction. Representatives of the All Parties Fishermen Coordination Committee met the fisheries secretary a couple of days back and submitted a representation seeking to expedite the process.
RTI applicant and fishermen leader K Bharati told TNIE, “From 2017, we have been demanding for a long-term housing plan to be prepared. We feel the government was deliberately trying to delay in order to push mega development projects along the coastline.”