Members of the Mumbai fishing community who oppose the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) for Mumbai – which was recently approved by the Union’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change – wrote to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday, expressing specific concerns and requests in the matter. While the approved CZMP has been well received by builders as it will open up vast tracts of coastal land for real estate projects, fishermen fear the plan will facilitate land grabbing in and around the koliwadas and degrade the commons. fishing by putting them close to development. Activities.

“We would like to bring to your attention that the MoEFCC, Government of India, recently approved the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) prepared by the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) for the city and suburbs. from Mumbai. This is a serious attack on our rights under the CRZ regime and will have far-reaching negative effects on fishing, fishing communities and the coastal environment of Mumbai, ”said Monday’s letter, written by Devendra Tandel. , president of Akhil Maharashtra Machimaar Kruti Samiti.

Speaking to the Hindustan Times on Monday, Tandel alleged that the recently sanctioned CZMP violated not only the overall Coastal Regulatory Zone (2019) framework, but also the municipality’s own development control and promotion regulation 2034 – or the 2034 development plan – which is awaiting final notification.

“All of Mumbai’s koliwadas are supposed to be mapped and demarcated in the coastal zone management plan. This was a provision of the 2011 CRZ, and remains in its updated 2019 version. In Mumbai, the koliwads were mapped, but they were not released for public review, revised and accordingly incorporated into the CZMP. It’s an outright violation, ”Tandel explained.

Community members also explained that the finalized CZMP, which will allow construction activities to take place at a distance of 50 m from the high tide line (compared to 500 m according to CRZ 2011 rules) will particularly endanger people. parts of fishing villages that do not fall under the “gaothan” land income category. “There are some restrictions on redevelopment in the Gaothan, while the parts of the koliwada outside the Gaothan area were protected by CRZ 2011 rules. It is these parts, which tend to be made up of ‘extensions’ of koliwada, which will become susceptible to redevelopment and land grabbing, ”Tandel said.

Other leaders of fishing communities that HT spoke to alleged that public consultations with Kolis and other fishermen were not adequately organized and made public, as required by pre-legislative policy. “What is more alarming is that the revised Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) maps, which the state-level Coastal Zone Management Authority approved in March of this year, are not not even public. We have no idea where the high tide line was drawn. This is a major gap in governance that directly affects fishermen, whereas if you look at the CRZ mother law, it demands that affected communities be put in trust, ”said Rajesh Mangela, spokesperson. of the National Forum of Fishworkers and Community Leader of Moragaon Village in Juhu. Mangela and others also, in their letter to the Chief Minister, sought to keep “all CRZ clearance applications based on the recently approved CZMPs for the city and suburbs of Mumbai” pending until the fishermen’s demands be resolved.

An official with the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority, seeking anonymity, responded to the allegations: and suburbs. The injured parties can apply to the environment department or to any other repair method of their choice. Since they have approached the Chief Minister, I am sure their concerns will be addressed where appropriate. “

State Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray wrote in January to former Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar calling for the inclusion of Coastal Zone Management Plans (CZMP) in the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) Notification Framework, 2019 for Maharashtra Districts including Mumbai, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.

The draft CZMP maps were prepared by the NCSCM under the auspices of the Union Ministry of Environment in 2019 for all coastal districts of Maharashtra based on the 2019 Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) standards. They were published on January 22, 2020. These maps use distinct color codes to delimit CRZ zones (I to IV), high tide and danger line, fishing zones, intertidal zones, mangrove forests and buffer zones, turtle nesting sites, cyclone shelters, koliwadas and gaothans. These maps also identify coastal areas that may be open for infrastructure development.

“Public hearings were then held in February to receive objections and suggestions on the previous iteration of the CZMP, which was released in January 2020. It was learned that the main objection concerns the coastal mapping in which the regulatory areas have been. delimited. The maps have been revised taking into account public comments. The MCZMA has given the green light to these changes, and the revised plans have now received approval from the MoEFCC, ”said a development official.