Perpetuating predicament : Backwater islanders await CRZ Integrated Island Management Plan
Sherry J Thomas
sherryjthomas@gmail.com
Kerala’s coastal expanse along the Arabian Sea extends to approximately 590 kilometres, from Kasaragod in the north to Thiruvananthapuram in the south. Nevertheless, when the ambit is enlarged to encompass backwaters—comprising estuaries, lagoons, and fluvial interconnections—which indisputably fall within the purview of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), the aggregate shoreline length escalates substantially. As per the Kerala State Remote Sensing and Environment Centre (KSREC), the cumulative perimeter of these inland water bodies approximates 2,300 kilometres.
The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (EPA) vests plenary powers in the Union Government to undertake such measures as are necessary to safeguard and ameliorate environmental conditions. Invoking Section 3(1) thereof, the Government assumed jurisdiction to protect coastal and marine ecosystems, culminating in the issuance of the CRZ Notification under Sections 3(1) and 3(2)(v) of the said enactment.
When the first CRZ Notification of 1991 was promulgated, neither the island communities nor the dominant political formations envisaged the magnitude of embargoes it would impose upon traditional habitation rights, particularly with respect to the construction of dwelling houses within regulated precincts. Subsequently, in 2011, a revised CRZ Notification introduced marginal concessions. Later, pursuant to the recommendations of the Shailesh Nayak Committee and after exhaustive stakeholder consultations, additional relaxations were incorporated into the CRZ Notification, 2019.
Notwithstanding these normative advancements, the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) was finalised only in October 2024. However the Integrated Island Management Plan (IIMP)—envisaged to attenuate the No Development Zone along backwater margins from 50 metres to 20 metres—remains unimplemented. Consequently, the anticipated 20-metre dispensation is not yet available for Kerala’s backwater dwellers.
Proposed relaxations for backwater islands in CRZ 2019
The rigour of restrictions in No Development Zone in backwater islands along mainland coast is reduced in the present CRZ Notification. The clause 10.2 of CRZ Notification 2019 read so –
CRZ for inland backwater islands and islands along mainland coast:
(i) All the inland islands in the coastal backwaters and islands along the mainland coast shall also be covered under this notification
(ii) In view of the unique coastal systems of backwater islands and islands along the mainland coast, along with space limitations in such coastal stretches, CRZ of 20 meters from the HTL on the landward side shall uniformly apply to such islands and activities shall be regulated as under:-
(a) existing dwelling units of local communities may be repaired or reconstructed within 20 meters from the HTL of these islands, however, no new construction shall be permitted in this zone.
(b) foreshore facilities, such as fishing jetty, fish drying yards, net mending yard, fishing processing by traditional methods, boat building yards, ice plant, boat repairs and the like, may be taken up in CRZ limits subject to due environmental safeguards.
(iii) Integrated Island Management Plans (IIMPs), as applicable to smaller islands in Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar, as per Island Protection Zone Notification, 2011 number S.O. 20(E), dated the 6th January, 2011, shall be formulated by respective States or Union territory for all such islands and submitted to Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and till the IIMPs are framed, provisions of this notification shall not apply and the CZMP as per provisions of CRZ Notification 2011 number S.O. 19(E), dated the 6th January, 2011, shall continue to apply.
Although the current CRZ Notification came into force on 18th January 2019, the Integrated Island Management Plan (IIMP), mandated to operationalize specific relaxations for backwater islands, has yet to be framed by the State of Kerala. In the absence of this plan, the restrictions stipulated under the erstwhile CRZ Notification 2011, continue to govern these areas, leaving backwater islanders at a distinct disadvantage.
The reclassification of certain areas from CRZ-III to CRZ-II brought substantial relief to 66 Gram Panchayats in Kerala, allowing construction on the landward side of existing authorized structures and roads. However, despite 175 Panchayats being proposed for category change, only 66 were approved, as they alone met the requisite conditions at the time of the CRZ 2019 Notification’s publication. Litigations challenging the exclusion of the remaining Panchayats are currently pending adjudication, underscoring the continuing uncertainty and legal contestation surrounding the implementation of these relaxations.
Caught in Bureaucratic Limbo
The greater the influence, the swifter the benefits flow. Unfortunately, this axiom holds true in the case of Kerala’s coastal dwellers. The majority of people inhabiting the shoreline are traditional fishing communities with limited bargaining power and little access to decision-making corridors. For them, the prolonged delay in finalizing the Integrated Island Management Plan (IIMP) has translated into years of regulatory uncertainty and developmental stagnation.
What is particularly disheartening is the apparent indifference of mainstream political formations, for whom this delay has never evolved into a matter of serious political discourse. While the promise of CRZ 2019 offered hope of relief, the ground reality remains one of inertia—where those without influence continue to wait endlessly for rights already recognized on paper.
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