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| Coastal regulation violation is rampant in Puri (file picture) |
Bhubaneswar, July 19: Violation of the coastal regulation zone (CRZ) notification, that prohibits any construction within 500 metres of the high tide line (HTL), is rampant in Orissa. But, identifying violations and acting against the offenders are turning out to be a Herculean task for the government.
Almost all the littoral states were asked by the Union ministry of environment and forest in January to identify the CRZ violations within four months and initiate action against the violators under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
However, with most of the states seeking more time citing manpower and logistical constraints, the deadline has now been extended to October 30. A communication from the Centre to Orissa and other coastal states on July 14 said though they had been asked to identify the CRZ violations within four months from January 25 this year, they had been making repeated requests to the Centre and the National Coastal Zone Management Authority for extending the time limit.
“The ministry, while taking into consideration the above reasons provided by the coastal state/UT government, has decided to extend the time period for identifying the violation of CRZ Notification, 1991, up to October 30, 2011,” stated the letter signed by Dr Nalini Bhat, the advisor to the ministry of environment and forest.
On his part, Orissa’s environment director Bhagirathi Behera asserted that the state government had taken immediate steps to comply with the Centre’s directive. “Soon after the ministry had issued the directive, we asked the collectors of several coastal districts to identify violations and initiate action against the offenders under Section 19 of the Environment Protection Act. In between, I have attended meetings in New Delhi apprising the central authorities of the follow up action taken by us,” said Behera.
However, sources said Orissa’s efforts in this regard might not be enough considering the scale of violations. For the record, the government in 2002 demolished 23 prawn gherries falling within the CRZ area and dismantled a concrete platform on Puri beach apart from asking the collectors of Puri and Ganjam to take action against six other constructions in the prohibited zone during 2003-04.
Similarly, in 2009, the collectors of these two districts were asked to initiate steps against violations in 53 cases, including hotels, hatcheries and such other structures. Of these, 28 had come up at Gopalpur, a seaside resort in Ganjam district.
Sources said about a dozen violation related cases had also been pending in the high court.
While Puri and Ganjam have been the most problematic districts as far as the CRZ violations are concerned, cases have also been reported from Bhadrak and Balasore. In Chilika, which has been placed under CRZ-I, the biggest threat is prawn culture. It, however, continues despite occasional demolition drives carried out by the administration to destroy the culture ponds.