As the Centre is believed to have given the final touches to yet another controversial notification allowing commercial activities close to the coast, the green groups are openly criticising the Union Environment Ministry for the manner in which the notification was finalised.
Though the officials are tight-lipped, it is learnt that the ministry has finalised a set of amendments to the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification of 1991 allowing variety of commercial activities within 500m of the coast line.
The new notification now requires endorsement of the Prime Minister, who has been looking after the environment portfolio following the last Cabinet reshuffle, before it is released publicly, sources said.
But the green groups are upset with the secretive attitude of the ministry. They say the fishermen were not given a chance to discuss the pros and cons of the new notification, as the entire exercise was carried out in a hush-hush manner. “Lack of public participation during the formulation of the notification is not acceptable,” said Sudarshan Rodriguez, an activist from Bangalore-based Ashoke Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) at a CRZ meeting here on Friday.
The voluntary organisations claim that even before disclosing the notification, the ministry with the permission of the Planning Commission approached the World Bank to invest in coastal projects. The new notification is also believed to allow setting up of special economic zones in urban areas close to sea coast. More industry and tourism activities are also expected to flourish along the coast once the new notification is in place.
This is in contrast to the suggestions given by scientists after the tsunami in 2004. They had warned about the dangers of increased commercial activities near the coast. Instead, planting more mangrove trees was suggested.

‘Vulnerable line’
The ministry has proposed demarcation of a vulnerability line and permitting commercial activities beyond that line. “Nobody knows how this vulnerability line will be drawn as there is no definition.
The same ministry had failed to demarcate the high tide line anywhere on the coast despite its requirement as per the 1991 notification,” Debi Goenka from Mumbai-based Conservation Action Group told Deccan Herald.
The green groups are of the opinion that the ministry had carried out changes because of pressure from the tourism and industry lobbies, which consider the CRZ rules inhibitory.