Now, no coastal zone authority nod needed to construct structures up to 300 sqm

So far, owners of such properties had to get permission from MCZMA or district coastal zone management authorities and it took a significant time before applicants got permission. Most of the applicants hired consultants to present their case before the MCZMA or district coastal management authority

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) has written to all urban planning bodies and collectors of coastal districts, stating that they will not have to seek permission from the concerned coastal zone authority to construct new structures or redevelop existing structures up to 300 square metres (sqm).

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So far, owners of such properties had to get permission from MCZMA or district coastal zone management authorities and it took a significant time before applicants got permission. Most of the applicants hired consultants to present their case before the MCZMA or district coastal management authority. Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) permissions were also required for house repairs. Now, the applicants will have to apply to the respective municipal councils, corporations or district-level authorities.

The director (environment) of MCZMA had written the letter to all commissioners of municipal corporations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and chief officers of the municipal councils, district collectors of Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Raigad, Mumbai and its suburbs and Palghar districts and heads of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) and Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and also local town planning departments.

The letter states that the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had published CRZ Notification, 2019, which superseded CRZ Notification, 2011. The MOEFCC had approved the coastal management zone plans of Mumbai and its suburban districts in 2021 and on August 25 this year, the MCZMA of Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts were cleared.

The letter added, “As per CRZ notification, 2019, only for self-dwelling units up to a total built-up area of 300 sqm, approval shall be accorded by the local authority concerned without the requirement of recommendations of concerned Coastal Zone Management Authority and such authorities shall, however, examine the proposal from the perspective of the CRZ notification before according to approval.”

BJP MLA from Sindhudurg district Nitesh Rane said that the move will ease the process of getting permission and also the hardships faced by owners. “This will also immensely benefit tourism as there are many households that give their houses for homestays,” he added.

A former collector of Raigad said, “I have seen the fishermen community face action for redeveloping their houses as they did not take permission for CRZ. The move will benefit the residents of the area.”

Meanwhile, environmentalists have raised their voices against the MCZMA move. D Stalin of NGO Vanashakti said that the MoEFCC should have desisted from issuing such a circular. “The CRZ notification 2019 itself is under challenge before the judiciary. This hastily introduced circular is meant to help sea-facing plot owners who will get permission from local authorities instead of MCZMA. All this effort is solely directed towards people who have possession of prime coastal lands and for them to begin construction easily,” he added.

Environmental activist and fisherman Nandakumar Pawar said the move is nothing but promoting more construction activities in the most ecologically sensitive areas. “The coastal areas are always more sensitive in terms of being habitats for varieties of migratory birds, and natural flood mitigation sources among others,” he said.