Boat Club, Poes Garden not spared from pollution: Report

Pushing industries to the city fringes doesn’t help, say activists

If you think that posh residential neighbourhoods such as Boat Club and Poes Garden have lesser pollution levels due to their tree cover, you are mistaken. These areas have recorded high levels of particulate matter that are lesser than 2.5 microns.

Boat Club recorded 104.30 micrograms/cubic metre and Poes Garden 101 micrograms/cubic metre during a 24-hour period last month. According to Central Pollution Control Board standards, anything above 90 micrograms/cubic metre is classified as unhealthy for sensitive groups. The permissible level for 24-hours is 60 microgram/cubic metre.

Members of civil society, residents of north Chennai and doctors, who addressed the media on Wednesday called for putting a stop to air pollution from industries, especially from coal-fired thermal power plants in the north of the city. They also demanded adherence to national standards and no further expansion of high polluting industries in the area.

PRESS RELEASE : Dirty Industries in Chennai’s Edges Blow their Poisons to City Centre

Source: PRESS RELEASE : Dirty Industries in Chennai’s Edges Blow their Poisons to City Centre

Press Release: Scientific Body’s High Tide Line for TN Wrongly Drawn to Create Real Estate: Coastal Activists

Chennai: Nearly 900 acres of tidal wetlands in two locations have been wrongly identified as land by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) which got a multi-crore contract to demarcate the High Tide Line for Tamil Nadu under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2011. This and other inconsistencies were revealed during a ground truthing exercise conducted by the Coastal Resource Centre (CRC). The erroneous demarcation shortchanges fisherfolk by showing tidal waterbodies as developable real estate.

The inconsistencies cast a shadow on NCSCM’s demarcation exercise and the robustness of the verification process by the State and Central Coastal Zone Management Agencies, CRC said. NCSCM’s High Tide Line cannot be relied upon for preparing the State Coastal Zone Management Plans.

NCSCM had denied access to these maps under RTI claiming that disclosure would prejudicially affect their scientific and economic interests. The maps were later accessed through the State Coastal Zone Management Authority.

“Public scrutiny of such foundation data sets is critical as this forms the basis of the CZMP.   An inaccurate HTL can result in a flawed CZMP, and throw open ecologically sensitive areas for development,” said Pooja Kumar of the Coastal Resource Centre.

CRC ground-truthed the HTL data set by zeroing in on locations where prima facie discrepancies were evident.

• In Karungali, Thiruvallur District, and Yedaiyanthittu Kazhuveli in Kanchipuram/Villupuram districts, the HTL is demarcated within the tidal waterbody thereby reducing the area of water protected by the CRZ Notification. By doing this, nearly 888 acres of new developable real estate has been created in these two locations.

• The HTL on one arm of the Adyar River was highlighted to show how man-made structures on the river were arbitrarily used to mark the extent of tidal influence. the CRZ limits of Adyar creek stops with the first causeway that the river’s backwaters pass on north of the river mouth.

• In Athipattu village on Ennore Creek, NCSCM effectively obliterates all evidence of CRZ violation by Hindustan Petroleum (HP). HP has illegally built on a mangrove-fringed tidal creek (CRZ IV and CRZ I under CRZ Notification). By failing to ground-truth or compare it against an earlier, more robust HTL demarcation by the Institute of Remote Sensing, NCSCM’s HTL wrongly uses HP’s violation as the baseline.

Thousands of fisherfolk along the coast of India are facing threats to livelihood and living spaces from various sectors targeting the coast. A robust plan to manage such a contested space is needed to secure the lives and livelihoods of artisanal fishers and protect ecologically sensitive areas. To achieve this, three action points are suggested

• Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate change must immediately call for a complete scientific revalidation of the HTL prepared by NCSCM by conducting extensive ground truthing and community consultations
• HTL prepared by NCSCM in this form must be declared invalid and instructions be passed to all states to pause using this data for preparation of CZMP
• No project be considered for CRZ Clearance at the state and/or central level until the finalization of a Coastal Zone Management Plan following the guidelines issued in the CRZ 2011 using an accurate, validated HTL.

For More Information Contact :

Saravanan K – 9176331717

Pooja Kumar – 9791122180

In tune with PM Narendra Modi’s can-do business spirit, Environment Ministry set to tweak rules

In a new order, the Environment Ministry will soon replace the existing 2011 notification of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) that manages all activities taking place on the coastline of India.

In a new order, the Environment Ministry under Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon replace the existing 2011 notification of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) that manages all activities taking place on the coastline of India. The new order that will soon be implemented by the government will be called Marine and Coastal Regulation Zone (MCRZ) notification, according to report in the Indian Express. This move of the government comes with an aim to make important changes in the way it governs the coast and also to remove the ban on reclamation of land all over the coast line including the ecologically sensitive areas along the shores and to use it for others grounds like commercial, entertainment and even for tourism activities.

A sea change

Drastic changes to coastal governance rules do not adequately address livelihood and ecological concerns

The government is planning to bring in changes to the way the country’s coasts are governed. A draft Marine and Coastal Regulation Zone (MCRZ) notification is reportedly in the offing. The last Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Rules were notified in 2011. There have been significant changes in land-use along the coast since the CRZ 2011 was notified and it has been argued that a strict implementation of the 2011 rules has led to a neglect of development in coastal areas, particularly in Karnataka, Goa and Kerala. The draft tries to open up coastal areas to development activities, but it does so in a manner that invites accusations that it wavers on its fundamental mandate of protecting coastal ecology and securing the livelihoods of people who depend on marine ecosystems.

The draft proposes to remove the ban on reclamation of land in coastal areas for commercial or tourism activities even in ecologically-sensitive areas. In doing so, it does not adequately acknowledge the idiosyncrasies of coastal areas. Sand dunes, for example, are natural bulwarks against strong sea winds and high waters. Mangroves, the tiny forests along the coastlines, cushion the impact of tidal waves. Flattening them in order to construct tourism infrastructure compromises the coast’s resilience to natural calamities. The new rules continue a trend that began in 2015 with a series amendments to the CRZ 2011. An amendment that year, for example, allowed reclamation of the seabed for constructing roads. Another amendment, last year, allowed commercial establishments like the shacks in Goa to remain erected during the monsoon months.

Oil pollution threatens Chennai’s beaches

Morning walkers shocked to find oil on the sands of the Marina at Nochikuppam, Pattinapakkam; fishermen demand immediate action

Sunday’s oil spill as a result of the collision of two cargo ships off the Kamarajar Port in Ennore has been polluting Chennai’s beaches too.

On Monday morning beach walkers found oil on the sands on the Marina beach, near INS Adyar, at Nochikuppam and at Pattinapakkam.

Anusya Parasuraman, a resident of Nochikuppam and regular morning walker, said that she was shocked to see the black oil deposit on the sands of the Marina. “In many places people were playing in the water despite the blackish oil floating around. Several fishermen from Nochikuppam, who landed their boats after fishing trips, said there was a strong smell of oil in the sea,” she said.

Various fishermen organisations have demanded immediate action to remove the oil spills as it is affecting the livelihood of the fishermen.

M.D. Dayalan of the Indian Fishermen’s Association said the oil would affect the sea for years to come. “Fishermen have not been able to venture into the sea for the past two days,” he pointed out.

K. Bharathi of the South Indian Fishermen Welfare Association said the leak had proved that the port had no safety mechanisms in place to prevent such pollution. “They only want ports to flourish but not us fishermen,” he said.

Nanjil Ravi of Akila Indhiya Meenavar Sangam said efforts must be taken to contain the spill, which is fast spreading. “More and more fishing hamlets are getting affected by this oil spill.”

Oil blackens Marina, but Kamarajar port officials, shipping minister deny spill

The polluted waters due to the oil spill. (Photo | EPS)

Unprecedented scenes were witnessed on Monday on the shores of the Bay of Bengal from Bharathiyar Nagar near Ennore to Marina Light House, with tonnes of tar-like thick black oil allegedly leaked from one of the vessels that collided near Kamarajar Port two days ago, polluting several square kilometers of sea. The oil deposit has converted sandy beaches, including the Marina, into a rubbery ground, making it inaccessible to the public.

Oil Washed Ashore on The Marina, in Chennai on Monday | Romani Agarwal

When Express travelled on a fishing boat along the Marina beach stretch, several chunks of oil deposits were spotted among the waves.The biggest challenge was that both Kamarajar Port and the vessel that caused the disaster remained in denial, leaving the official machinery clueless about what they were dealing with. Minister of State (Shipping) Pon Radhakrishnan visited the port and observed that there were no spills/sheens in the area, claims a release from the port.