Gujarat govt admits of failure to include fishing jetties in CRZ maps put up for public hearing

MSH Sheikh

By A Representative
The Gujarat government has admitted that it has failed to identify fishing jetties, salt pans and shrimp farms in its new Coastal Regulatory Zone maps released for public hearing for finalising the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) for each district. Following a strong representation by MSH Sheikh, environmentalist and representative of the fishing communities, district collector Ravi Kumar Arora, who is chairman of the district-level authority for preparing CZMP, "We will include them in our final maps after consultation with the authorities concerned. I can assure you as representative of the government."
Making a strong representative at the public hearing in Bharuch, Sheikh wondered, "Why have fishing villages and jetties not been the CRZ maps though there are 40 spots where boats land? Where are the spots for even one?" He asked, "Why are the maps which are printed called predaft? Why are the maps so old, when the coastline of a large number of coastal villages have changed? Besides, why is nothing available on Gujarati? Ordinary people do not understand from these maps, what they want to know whether they can carry on their fishing activity or not, or whether their place will be taken away by the corporates." He added, "Not one coastal village panchayat was consulted before making any of these maps."