The fisherfolk in Perupalem, a coastal village in West Godavari district, are determined not to allow any construction on the land near the beach, which they say is protected by the norms of the Coastal Regulation Zone and where they have been growing coconut trees and casuarina plantations for decades.
With catch from sea dropping, the villagers have grown increasingly dependent on these trees for their livelihoods, said Tirumani Srinivas, a fisherman, adding that 15 casuarina plantations have been flattened for the current construction work. “A few persons, claiming to be working for the government, have begun putting a heap of sand, brought bricks and built the foundation for the structures,” said Mr. Srinivas.
Activists from the Human Rights Forum (HRF), which has been working on the issue for a long time, said on condition of anonymity that these projects not only strip the villagers of their livelihood source, but also flout the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms.
According to the CRZ Notifications, 2011, issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEFCC), coastal areas are classified into CRZ I, CRZ II, CRZ III and CRZ IV sections. Area up to 200 meters from the High Tide Line (HTL) on the landward side is considered No Development Zone (NDZ) under CRZ-III, where no permanent structures can come up, according to the notification.
