Environmentalists write to state coastal management to rectify maps

CRZ IB categories have also been combined, and the new CZMP for Mumbai makes no differentiation between beach, rocky outcrops, and the intertidal zone

Mumbai The city-based environment group Conservation Action Trust, which has been closely monitoring the implementation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules in Mumbai, wrote to the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCMZA) on Monday, strongly urging the body to rectify “several changes” between recently published Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) for Mumbai city and suburbs and a draft version of these plans which were first published in 2020.

The city-based environment group Conservation Action Trust, which has been closely monitoring the implementation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules in Mumbai, wrote to the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCMZA) on Monday, strongly urging the body to rectify “several changes” (HT Photo)

“There are several changes between draft CZMP maps and final CZMP maps of Mumbai city and Mumbai Suburban district uploaded on the MCZMA website without any explanation or CZMP report,” states the letter, authored by Debi Goenka, executive trustee, CAT. The final CZMP maps have combined all CRZ IA (most ecologically sensitive areas such as mangroves, beaches, creeks and mudflats) categories into a single broad head, providing no differentiation between these landscape categories, which could potentially affect regional planning.

Similarly, CRZ IB categories have also been combined, and the new CZMP for Mumbai makes no differentiation between beach, rocky outcrops, and the intertidal zone. Moreover, the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) delineated around Thane creek, is only shown for CRZ IA areas, and not to the entire extent of the ESZ on the final CZMP maps. Another significant change is that village boundaries that were shown under the draft CZMP maps have been removed from the final CZMP maps.

“The CZMPs also fail to demarcate High Eroding Coastlines under the draft as well as final CZMPs...the Hazard Line incorporated in the draft CZMPs published in the year 2020 is not updated and relies on old data. This is evident from the fact that the said Hazard Line fails to take into consideration the inevitability of sea-level rise and global warming,” states Goenka’s letter.

“Even the municipal commissioner of Mumbai has warned that 80% of Mumbai will be underwater by the year 2050. A recent report by a global risk management firm has pointed out that several key properties and road networks in the city are at risk of submergence by 2050. Despite such warnings, the planning document meant to preserve the city’s coastline seems to have been notified without due scrutiny by the state government,” said Goenka.

Nearly 500 acres of land near Malad creek have also been removed from the ambit of the coastal regulatory zone (CRZ) in the updated CZMP as HT reported on March 13. The new CZMPs for Maharashtra were drafted in 2019 by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management under the Union environment ministry, and released on February 24, after they were approved by the National Coastal Zone Management Authority in September 2021.

Environmentalists pointed out that the updated CZMP maps have been developed at a scale of 1:25,000, instead of the 1:4,000 resolution required for planning authorities. “Without detailed maps, it would not be possible for any citizen, decision-maker or even a judge to figure out what is the situation as depicted in the CZMP as compared to ground reality,” Goenka pointed out.

Narendra Toke, chairperson, MCZMA, did not respond to requests for comment.