The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday gave a nod to the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2018. It has permitted the construction of up to 50m of the high tide line and temporary structures only 10m from it.
The approval was given on the ground of “enhancing activities in coastal regions” to promote economic growth without compromising with the conservation principles of coastal regions.
It has also restarted the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) caps to facilitate the real estate development in coastal urban areas. Also, the permission for a No-development zone (NDZ) of only 50 metres from high tide line (HTL) was given, which earlier was 200 metres for the highly populated coastal areas.
A new feature was introduced which permits temporary tourism facilities such as shacks, toilet blocks, drinking water facilities etc on the beaches at a minimum distance of only 10 metres from HTL.
Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the government received a large number of representations to revoke the 2011 CRZ notification. He added that the 2018 CRZ notification is a nice blend of “development and sustainability.”
The environment ministry claimed in a statement that the changes made will create additional opportunities for affordable housing, boost tourism in terms of more activities, infrastructure and opportunities.
The 2018 CRZ notification is based on the recommendations of the Sailesh Nayak committee. Kanchi Kohli, a legal researcher at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) said that the committee was opaque and the base of its findings was the demands of state governments. She claimed that it was made with two projects in mind Sagarmala, the blue economy and affordable housing.
Sailesh Nayak was the Former secretary in Ministry of Earth Sciences.