The Hindu Business Line : NGOs oppose Swaminathan panel report

Several NGOs here, working for the uplift of the fisherfolk in the coastal areas and conserving the coastal eco systems, have opposed some of the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee constituted in 2004 to recommend suitable changes to the coastal regulatory zone notification issued in 1991.

At a seminar organised on the issue by two NGOs — Equations and Keratam — here on Monday, several speakers opposed "any hasty attempt on the part of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to replace the 1991 CRZ notification with a new one based on the recommendations of the Swaminathan panel."

`NO CONSULTATION'

They said that there was no consultation with the stakeholders in the coastal areas, in particular the fisherfolk, either by the Swaminathan committee or the Ministry of Environment and Forests and many of the proposed changes were detrimental to the interests of the traditional fishermen.

Mr Syed Liyakhat, programme co-ordinator, said the Ministry had not yet come out with the draft proposals, but the National Fishworkers' Federation wanted the Ministry to consult the fishermen first before publishing the draft proposals.

He said the zonation proposed by the committee, particularly CMZ II, was not acceptable, as it was likely to pave the way for unsustainable development activities in large stretches of coastal zone.

The shift in focus from regulation to management, as suggested by the committee, was nothing but an attempt to dilute the regulatory aspects of the 1991 notification.

Citing the case of the construction of Gangavaram port in Visakhapatnam district, Mr Santaram, President of the Coastal Fishermen's Association, said priority was being given to tourism, ports and other development activities along the coast and the Government was utterly indifferent to the plight of fishermen. In such a situation, therefore, it would be disastrous from the perspective of the fishermen to dilute the 1991 CRZ notification.

Mr T. Sankar, of the Fishermen Youth Association, said, "the Swaminathan committee does not explicitly state the necessity of protecting the traditional and customary rights of fishing communities, especially access to the sea and marine resources."

Mr B. Ramu, convener of Keratam, Mr T. Visweswara Rao, programme officer of Action Aid Andhra Pradesh, Mr Ram Kumar of Equations, and several others spoke.

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