With the sea level rising and Odisha facing continuous natural disasters, critically vulnerable coastal areas will be identified in the State.
And accordingly, the State Government will revise its Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP). Besides, rising population and more urban zones coming up in the coast have necessitated such a step.
The CRZ limit will be revised looking at the density of population over years.
Odisha coast has become very vulnerable with severe and super storms and cyclones hitting it at regular intervals. Looking at the natural disasters, the CZMP is to be revisited, which was formulated way back in 2011.
In the meantime, the Government of India has issued a Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification of 2019 by revising CRZ Notification of 2011.
Accordingly, the coastal States are to revise and update the CZMP at the earliest as after eight years of CRZ notification, a lot has changed and it is seen that coastal zones are more and more vulnerable.
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has urged the coastal States, including Odisha to update CZMP according to the guidelines of CRZ notification of 2019.
Once the State Government updates its CZMP, it will be presented to the MoEFCC for approval, so that the State Government will be able to take up projects in these areas keeping new CRZ 2019 in view.
The State Government will have to take up changes in CZMP taking into consideration the villages, people, village boundary, fishing zones, infrastructure facilities, such as roads, port, jetty, fish landing centres and other issues.
Structures like cyclone shelters, helipads and roads needed for the purpose of rescue and relief operations during natural disasters will also be taken into account.
A “No Development Zone” will be identified. While preparing CZMP Census Data of 2011 will be taken into consideration and will be analyzed computing the corresponding density of each habitations, said a senior officer.
The CRZ will be classified in to four zones, CRZ I, II, III and IV and existing authorised developments on the seaward will be demarcated.
Officials say along with CZMP Map, Coastal Land Use Map will be prepared for scrutiny of National Centre For Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai.
Once it is approved all the maps will be made available with district Collectors and Gram Panchayats in the coastal zone.
After that a detailed environment management plan for ecologically sensitive areas will be formed.