India’s coastal regulation norms are set for a reboot. Marine and Coastal Regulation Zone (MCRZ) notification 2017, a draft of which is currently worked on by the Environment Ministry, will be replacing the older version. Even as the new regulations look to monetise the over 7000 km coastline of India to leverage its developmental potential, environmentalists have strongly objected to the manner in which the draft has been hushed up. At the heart of their complaint is the unwillingness of the government to release details of the draft, a work-in-progress, for a wider audience. So, is the MCRZ an improvement on Coastal Regulation Zone which it hopes to replace? Find out. The notification: It’s evolution The Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification gives protection to the Indian Coastline since 1991. The notification also contains regulations to set up development projects and commercial activities along the coastline, which include the establishment of ports, thermal power plants and Special Economic Zones. The draft went through a series of amendments since 1991 which were solidified in the CRZ Notification 2011. What does the CRZ notification 2011 say? The CRZ Notification 2011 was drafted after consulting all stakeholders including policy makers, civil society organisations, fisher groups and coastal communities. It was a balanced document which made the state coastal zone management authorities responsible for its implementation, limiting the role of the state government in project appraisals and coastal planning. Amendments to the CRZ 2011 The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) constituted a six-member committee headed by Dr Shailesh Nayak, the former director of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, to review the 2011 notification. After a presentation was made to Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar in November 2014, a series of amendments were proposed to the Act. The Committee submitted its report to the Ministry in January 2015, after consulting only the state governments, excluding all other stakeholders. The Criticism Several RTIs were filed by the Namati Environmental Justice Programme, a special committee of environmentalists set up by the Centre for Policy Research to look into the CRZ regulations. The MoEFCC rejected the RTIs on grounds that the government approval has not arrived. However, an order from the Information Commissioner in May 2016 led to the Ministry partially disclosing the contents. The Namati Committee has massively criticized the secrecy behind the drafting of policies and the exclusion of stakeholders such as environmentalists, urban planners, policy makers and fishermen communities in the proposed amendments. Key changes * The MCRZ suggests that the no-development zone from the high tide line in rural coastal areas be shrunk to 50 million from 200 million * It proposes that the state and Union Territories should prepare tourism plans for their respective MCRZ areas. * It reduces coastal protection zone for islands from the present 500 metres from the high tide line to just 20 metres. * It proposes to allow tourism activities in ecologically sensitive areas * It gives power to the state government to decide the extent of developmental activities in the coastal area. * It clarifies that activities of the Defence Research and Development Organization, Indian Space Research Organization extraction of natural gas will require consent from the ministry. Concerns Expressed Environmentalists of the Namati Committee have assessed the report and declared that the new regulations permitting tourism and real estate structures in and around coastlines will have serious implications on marine ecology and environment. They are of the opinion that it is definitely weaker than the 2011 Notification. The Committee also expressed concerns on the unavailability of the report for public consideration.