Why in News?

• The last of the four illegal apartment complexes in Maradu, Kerala, was razed by controlled implosion, marking the completion of the demolition drive of the waterfront highrises.

Highlights:

• The razing of the four luxury apartments was ordered by the Supreme Court in May, for breaching Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms.
• In India, the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Rules govern human and industrial activity close to the coastline, in order to protect the fragile ecosystems near the sea.
• They restrict certain kinds of activities, like large constructions, setting up of new industries, storage or disposal of hazardous material, mining, reclamation and bunding within a certain distance from the coastline.
• In all Rules, the regulation zone has been defined as the area up to 500 m from the high-tide line.
• The restrictions depend on criteria such as the population of the area, the ecological sensitivity, the distance from the shore, and whether the area had been designated as a natural park or wildlife zone.
• For CRZ-III (Rural) areas, two separate categories have been stipulated. In the densely populated rural areas (CRZ-IIIA) with a population density of 2,161 per sq km as per the 2011 Census, the no-development zone is 50 m from the high-tide level, as against the 200 m stipulated earlier.
• CRZ-IIIB category (rural areas with population density below 2,161 per sq km) areas continue to have a no-development zone extending up to 200 m from the high-tide line.
• The CRZ Rules are made by the Union environment ministry and implementation is to be ensured by state governments through their Coastal Zone Management Authorities.

CRZ Rules 2018:

• Temporary tourism facilities such as shacks, toilet blocks, change rooms, drinking water facilities etc. have now been permitted in Beaches. Such temporary tourism facilities are also now permissible in the “No Development Zone” (NDZ) of the CRZ-III areas as per the Notification.
• The procedure for CRZ clearances has been streamlined. Only projects/activities, which are located in the CRZ-I (Ecologically Sensitive Areas) and CRZ IV (area covered between Low Tide Line and 12 Nautical Miles seaward) shall be dealt with for CRZ clearance by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The powers for clearances with respect to CRZ-II and III have been delegated at the State level with necessary guidance.
• For islands close to the main land coast and for all Backwater Islands in the main land, in wake of space limitations and unique geography of such regions, bringing uniformity in treatment of such regions, NDZ of 20 m has been stipulated.
• In order to address pollution in Coastal areas treatment facilities have been made permissible activities in CRZ-I B area subject to necessary safeguards.