Govt of India, coastal state govts, hand-in-glove with corporates, are out to loot coastal natural resources

By Pradip Chatterjee*

The Government of India's Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has, on 18th April 2018, notified a Draft Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification 2018 and has asked for comments from stakeholders within 60 days of its publication. MoEFCC has notified the new draft CRZ Notification when:

Thousands of violations of CRZ 1991 and CRZ 2011 Notifications have already destroyed large parts of the coast and its natural resources;
The Central and State Governments have miserably failed in their duty to book the violators, let alone prevent those;
The Governments of coastal states have repeatedly failed in preparing Coastal Zone Management Plans and appropriate Coastal Zone Maps;
The MoEFCC and concerned State Governments have been put under Judicial monitoring by the apex Green Tribunal of the country to prepare and submit CZMPs and Maps within July 2018.

The Government of India along with the coastal state Governments are hand-in-glove with the corporate and business houses who are out to loot the coastal natural resources. In a travesty of environmental governance the Central and State Governments keep their eyes shut to the illegal activities on the coastal land and waters by the corporate and business houses. Without taking any measure against the violators of the law they are shamelessly changing the law itself.
Not only this. The MoEFCC is blatantly misusing the power conferred on it by the law of the country. The Environment Protection Act of 1986, under its section 3, states that:
"Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Central Government, shall have the power to take all such measures that it deems to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of protecting and improving the quality of the environment and preventing, controlling and abating environmental pollution".
The MoEFCC has been shamelessly misusing the power given to it for upkeep and betterment of the environment, to open up the coast and its natural resources to further plunder by watering down and/or changing the restrictions put in place by CRZ Notification. MoEFCC amended the CRZ 1991 Notification no less than 25 times, most of which were aimed at relaxing the restrictions on harmful constructions and activities.
The story of CRZ 2011 Notification has been no different. And now MoEFCC under the Draft CRZ 2018 Notification is proposing to cut down the no development zone from 200 meters to 50 meters on large stretches of the coast. They are proposing to cut down the 100 meter CRZ area in the case of rivers, creeks and backwaters etc. from 100 meters to 50 meters. They are even proposing to open up eco-sensitive CRZ-I areas like mangroves to tourism. And all these are being done in exercise of the power conferred to the Government to protect and better the environment. This is perjury.
The Dakshinbanga Matsyajibi Forum (DMF) calls upon all fish workers' collectives, environmental organisations and concerned citizens of the country to rise up in protest. Our country's natural resources are being devastated. The livelihood of millions of fisher people is facing destruction. The Government, supposed to be the custodian of the country's natural resources, is selling them off to the corporate looters.
Rise up and protest.
---
*With Dakshinbanga Matsyajibi Forum

Comments

Whither space for the marginalised in Kerala's privately-driven townships after landslides?

By Ipshita Basu, Sudheesh R.C. In the early hours of July 30 2024, a landslide in the Wayanad district of Kerala state, India, killed 400 people. The Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Vellarimala and Chooralmala villages in the Western Ghats mountain range turned into a dystopian rubble of uprooted trees and debris.

Election bells ringing in Nepal: Can ousted premier Oli return to power?

By Nava Thakuria* Nepal is preparing for a national election necessitated by the collapse of KP Sharma Oli’s government at the height of a Gen Z rebellion (youth uprising) in September 2025. The polls are scheduled for 5 March. The Himalayan nation last conducted a general election in 2022, with the next polls originally due in 2027. However, following the dissolution of Nepal’s lower house of Parliament last year by President Ram Chandra Poudel, the electoral process began under the patronage of an interim government installed on 12 September under the leadership of retired Supreme Court judge Sushila Karki. The Hindu-majority nation of over 29 million people will witness more than 3,400 electoral candidates, including 390 women, representing 68 political parties as well as independents, vying for 165 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

Gig workers hold online strike on republic day; nationwide protests planned on February 3

By A Representative Gig and platform service workers across the country observed a nationwide online strike on Republic Day, responding to a call given by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) to protest what it described as exploitation, insecurity and denial of basic worker rights in the platform economy. The union said women gig workers led the January 26 action by switching off their work apps as a mark of protest.

'Condonation of war crimes against women and children’: IPSN on Trump’s Gaza Board

By A Representative The India-Palestine Solidarity Network (IPSN) has strongly condemned the announcement of a proposed “Board of Peace” for Gaza and Palestine by former US President Donald J. Trump, calling it an initiative that “condones war crimes against children and women” and “rubs salt in Palestinian wounds.”

With infant mortality rate of 5, better than US, guarantee to live is 'alive' in Kerala

By Nabil Abdul Majeed, Nitheesh Narayanan In 1945, two years prior to India's independence, the current Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, was born into a working-class family in northern Kerala. He was his mother’s fourteenth child; of the thirteen siblings born before him, only two survived. His mother was an agricultural labourer and his father a toddy tapper. They belonged to a downtrodden caste, deemed untouchable under the Indian caste system.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

MGNREGA: How caste and power hollowed out India’s largest welfare law

By Sudhir Katiyar, Mallica Patel* The sudden dismantling of MGNREGA once again exposes the limits of progressive legislation in the absence of transformation of a casteist, semi-feudal rural society. Over two days in the winter session, the Modi government dismantled one of the most progressive legislations of the UPA regime—the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

MGNREGA’s limits and the case for a new rural employment framework

By Dr Jayant Kumar* Rural employment programmes have played a pivotal role in shaping India’s socio-economic landscape . Beyond providing income security to vulnerable households, they have contributed to asset creation, village development, and social stability. However, persistent challenges—such as seasonal unemployment, income volatility, administrative inefficiencies, and corruption—have limited the transformative potential of earlier schemes.

Search This Blog