The members of the National Fishworkers’ Forum and all the traditional coastal fisher communities of India are perplexed and shocked to hear that your ministry is about to finalise a ‘Marine and Coastal Regulation Zone Notification’ to replace the existing Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 2011. Please let me explain why we are perplexed and shocked. The CRZ Notification which was introduced in 1991, was to be amended without people’s consultation based on the recommendation of the report of the committee under the chairmanship of Shri. M. S. Swaminathan, constituted in August 2004. When the report of the Swaminathan committee was made public in 2005, the fisher communities all over the coastal states of India marked their protest by holding dharnas and action days in the period of 2007 through 2009 and as the result of it, the Union government held one consultation for the whole of India in Mumbai in which our people registered their protest and demanded a state level consultation in all the coastal states. The then union government arranged for consultation through Centre for Environment Education, a NGO that has branches in many states. CEE conducted 4 to 6 consultations in each state and uploaded the salient points raised by the participants in each of the consultation. The final report became impetus for the consultation by the Parliamentary Standing Committee in four places and the report showed that the concerns raised by the fisher communities been recognized by the eminent parliamentarians. After the parliament election in 2009, Shri. Jayaram Ramesh, the the~ minister for Environment ministry called on for a small team of the National Fisherfolk Forum members and other eminent citizens to sit along with them to finalise the draft. Largely based on it was the new CRZ Notification 2011. We know that you mean to ensure that the coastal fisher communities have their right over the coast and the marine region, but however, what is important is to let the fisher communities feel comfortable and own the process. It is why we demand that a thorough consultation be held with coastal fisher communities, other coastal communities and NGO groups who have expertise and concern over coastal environment in all the coastal districts of India and then at coastal state level and at the end at national level to finalise the new Notification. I !mow that it would need a considerable time, energy and finance, but the coastal communities have in the past helped to reduce the cost by appearing on their own expenses. On the other hand if the ministry goes ahead with a new notification without any consultation of the concerned communities, it would lead to mass protest and action of non cooperation which the ministry may not find palatable. Since there is no news about the new Marine and Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, we do hope that the ministry has not completed the finalization process. Even if it is otherwise and has not announced it on the website, kindly set it aside and set the process of public consultation with the communities concerned so that the communities could exist with peace and be part of the development plans for the marine and coastal zone of the country, for the welfare of the country. Hoping to hear from your good self positively.