Rights of Fishing People, other Coastal poor, Fisheries and Coastal Environment

1. 1
Election Manifesto 2016
on
Rights of Fishing People, other Coastal poor,
Fisheries and Coastal Environment
1. Moratorium on all proposed industrial,
infrastructural, Tourism, Sand mining and other
projects along Coastal Taluks of Tamil Nadu
Coast.
Numerous fishing habitats and their homelands are facing
extinction due to Government policy and changes in laws.
The establishment of destructive development mega projects
like industries, thermal power project, nuclear stations,
hazardous, etc., have resulted in thousands of fishing people
and other coastal poor being displaced from their homeland
leading to extreme vulnerability of these communities
especially women and children. Fishing women workers /
vendors lose their access to jobs and marketing of fish.
Children are uprooted from their safe surroundings and
schools and friends and often forced to join the labour market.
Women and children with no social security and community
protection are victims of violence and sexual abuse. We call
for a moratorium on all industrial, infrastructural,
Tourism, Sand mining proposed along Coastal Taluks of
Tamil Nadu Coast.
Coastal Action Network is a State Level Network for
Protection of coastal people’s livelihood and coastal-ecology
and promotion of human rights education and culture. Various
interest groups such as fishing people’s organisation, non-
governmental organisations, environmental and consumer
groups, academics, lawyers, activists and others felt the need
to evolve a broad based forum to protect the rights of coastal
communities and the coast from environmental degradation.
Contact Address: 11/1A, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsar Street, (Backside of Nadar Street) Velippalayam,
Nagapattinam – 611 001. Ph: 04365 – 248674, 248907; E-mail: coastalactionnetwork@rediffmail.com
54, LDG Road, Little Mount, Saidapet, Chennai – 15. Ph: 044 - 22353503, Fax: 044 - 22355905,
Email: humanrightsadvocacyandresearch@gmail.com
Advisory Committee
Justice Rajindar Sachar,
Former Chief Justice, Delhi High Court.
Justice H. Suresh,
Former Judge, Mumbai High Court.
Justice Kuldip Singh,
Former Judge, Supreme Court of India.
Ms. Indira Jaisingh,
Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India.
Dr. V. Vasanthi Devi,
Former Vice Chancellor,
Manomaniam Sundaranar University,
Tamil Nadu,
Former Chairperson, State Women’s
Commission, Tamil Nadu
Dr. Vandana Shiva,
Director, Research Foundation for
Science, Technology and Ecology.
New Delhi.
Mr. A. Sreenivasan,
Former Joint Director of Fisheries,
Tamil Nadu.
Ms. Norma Alvares,
Advocate, Goa

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Ban all Coastal Sand Mining
Coastal sand mining, for garnet minerals monazite and other minerals is widespread and
illegally mined along the coastal belt of Kanyakumari, Tuticorin and Tirunelveli causing
severe damage to seashore fishing, fisheries and coastal ecology. Sand mining along
the coast should be immediately stopped as it leads to Sea Erosion and deprives
fishing people’s livelihood and coastal ecology.
Coastal Action Network calls upon the Government to completely ban coastal sand mining
for use in collection several minerals including dangerous minerals such as thorium,
illuminate, monosite. This has resulted in severe damages to sensitive coastal areas, sand
dunes, violation of coastal regulation zones, collection of sand through channels cut in the
sea and damaging and destroying sensitive areas between low tide line and high tide line.
It has further divided fishing communities, caused livelihood denial, destroyed houses by
blasting caused severe health problems and permitted the intrusion of salt water
damaging potable drinking water.
Erosion
Due to construction of hard structures like groyens the natural littoral drift movement from
South to North is obstructed resulting in severe erosion of coastal lands, ecology and
habitats. Due to this erosion sandy beach, sand dunes are washed out and the sea water
enters even cultivation lands and spoils the ground water resources turning fresh water
into salt water.
We condemn the ongoing fisheries policy and the Government of Tamil Nadu plans to
build sea walls all along the coast of Tamil Nadu in the guise of saving fishermen using
their land and houses. Numerous scientific institutions have proposed soft options for
accretion of sand rather than the hard structures which demolishes hills and hillocks from
the plains and the resulting sea walls and groyens only perpetuates erosion in the next
fishing villages. Further these sea walls obstruct fishermen who are dependent on sea
shore fishing from venturing in to the sea in their traditional boats. This erosion also affect
turtles from nesting and breeding.
 It legalizes all amendments that diluted CRZ NOTIFICATION 1991 Notification upto
2007.
 It legitimises the provisions of the rejected draft CMZ Notification 2007 and 2008
 It has added provisions which degrade/dilute the powers of the institutional
mechanisms such as NCZMA and SCZMA constituted as per the Judgment of the
Supreme Court in 1996. This dilution of powers by a notification and bureaucratic
decision making is a violation of the Supreme Court verdict.
Stop Privatisation
Privatisation through acquisition / purchase of coastal lands, backwaters, lagoons,
streams, mangroves and other resources for construction of industrial projects,
aquaculture shrimp industries, five star hotels and tourist resorts, entertainment parks,
desalination plants, power projects, ports, defence projects etc., leads to loss of local food
security as production is increasingly geared towards export. The appropriation of coastal
common lands under the guise of industrial agreements; loss of bio-diversity due to
industrialisation and industrial fishing, destruction of habitats, dumping of industrial
wastes, increasing public finance for practice of mono specie production, intensive
aquaculture, are some of the impacts of the state’s policies on the coast, which has
destroyed a long heritage of sand dunes and coastal vegetation as protection barriers to
several floods that used to hit the coast including tidal waves. Thermal and Nuclear

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Power Stations, Commercial Ports, and Harbours, Special Economic Zones generally
requires large areas of land uprooting landless agricultural labourers, small and medium
farmers, destroying biodiversity, food security, sand dunes and vegetation has always
had major impact on Coastal Environment, Fisheries and livestock. The Coast, fishing
people and coastal poor must be protected by the State Government and Local
Government. On no condition should the corporate sector be permitted to privatize
the homeland including water and ocean resources for their profit nor should the
State be permitted to apply the politics of appropriation to promote the eminent and
sovereign domain of the State in the name of public purpose.
Protecting Sand Dunes
Among the coastal environments, sand dunes occupy a very important role. Over
centuries sand dunes have protected the coastal villages from the adverse impact of
natural coastal formation like tsunami and cyclones. When such ocean and coastal
turbulance occur, sand dunes, if available, restrict the speed and force of such disasters
and thus protect fishing habitats, fishing craft and gear, fisheries and livelihoods. If sand
dunes are destroyed or used for other purposes are means we are inviting or creating
danger to human life and property. Further sand dunes also protect coastal biodiversity
including breeding of thousands of turtles.
In certain places due to natural ocean currents more sand has been deposited on the
shores which results over a period of decades in the formation of sand dunes. Today
however the formation of new sand dunes is very rare due to destructive human activities
like construction of groynes, laying of huge stones for protecting the coast against erosion
and the worst is coastal sand mining for extraction of different minerals. These have
resulted in restricting the ocean and coastal sand dynamics. The importance and the
need for the conservation of the sand dunes thus created are very essential.
Understanding of the sand dune ecosystem and its biodiversity will immensely
benefits fishing livelihoods, coastal ecology and fisheries. To protect sand dunes
which fall under CRZ – I (no development zone) the state should stop permitting any
industrial or tourism development in these areas. As urgent is to stop all legal and
illegal sand mining which destroys sand dunes.
Repeal Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 2011
The Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 2011 must be repealed as it permits several
industries that were prohibited under Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 1991. This
Notification fails to protect land and livelihood of the fishing people and the urgent need
was to restore CRZ Notification 1991 by withdrawing all the amendments that diluted 1991
Notification. Unfortunately
The Coastal Regulation Zone 2011 is another attempt to legalise all the violations. In the
name of strengthening CRZ Notification 1991, this attempts to remove all the protection
ensure to the fishing and coastal communities to have their livelihood rights. Hence this
amendment 2011 needs to be reviewed and withdrawn.
Under the Environment Protection Act CRZ Notification 1991(in its original form) was
brought to protect the Livelihood and homeland and to safeguard the coastal areas from
environmental degradation. CZM Plan and Maps was evolved to meet all these challenges
as directed by Supreme Court in 1996 to conserve and protect coastal stretches, its
unique environment and its marine area and to promote development through sustainable
manner based on scientific principles. Since 1996 several amendment were despite the
Supreme Court ordering a CZM plan and Map and several violation of CRZ took place
amounting nearly to 40% of the 1076 coast line in Tamil Nadu.

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Recently Coastal Action Network has filed an appeal before the National Green Tribunal
that only after a comprehensive management plan and Maps drawn after putting the 1996
plan and maps on the website and distributing the same to the public and fishing villages a
public hearing can be held. A public hearing based on just the CRZ maps as per
requirement of the CRZ 2011 serves no purpose. At any rate such a public hearing does
not fulfill the requirements of the CRZ notification and is a fraud on the people.
Urgency to draft a bill for traditional fishing people The MoEF, Government of
India, should take action immediately on the following demands:
i) CRZ 2011 Notification violates the traditional customary rights of fishing communities
to their homeland and their right to self-determination. MoEF must immediately
withdraw the CRZ Notification 2011, and ensure strict implementation of existing
Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 1991.
ii) Government of India (MoEF) should unconditionally and immediately withdraw 23
amendments made to the CRZ Notification 1991 which diluted the 1991 CRZ
Notification.
iii) To effectively implement CRZ Notification 1991 it is important to strengthen the
authorities for monitoring and taking action against the violations.
The CRZ Notification 2011 is nothing short of an attempt to resurrect proposals made in
the CMZ Draft that was rejected last year, in particular, relating to promotion of tourism
spots, IT and related sectors, development of airports, starting with Navi Mumbai proposal,
promotion of coastal nuclear power plants (such as Koodankulam that comprehensively
violates CRZ 91), and thus slowly open up the coast for a variety of environmentally
destructive developments.
The Central Government should come out with a status report on present land use pattern
contiguous to the CRZ and the contours of the seabed, impact of Disasters like super
cyclones & tsunami on coastal bio diversity. Your party when in power should take
measures to reclaim the CRZ zone I from existing encroachments in the form of hotels,
resorts, shrimp industries etc. These coastal lands meant for the traditional usage of the
fishing communities should be handed over to these communities after removing the
encroachments.
Immediate steps should be taken to mark the High Tide Line (HTL) along the 1000 km
coastline and provide village level cadestal survey maps prepared for identifying lands
falling in CRZ. The political parties should pressurise the state to mark the same.
Government of Tamil Nadu and MoEF should provide a responsive and transparent
functioning of Coastal Zone Management Authority (CZMA) both at the national and state
level and provide for personal liability on officials failing to take action against violations of
CRZ Notification. Public access should be mandatorily provided to all proceedings of the
authorities including minutes, copies of complaints application for approval, approvals and
action taken reports.
The Maps and Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) must be translated and
disseminated widely and access to the same shall be mandatorily provided upto
panchayat level in rural areas and ward level in urban areas.

5. 5
Comprehensive legislation for the protection of the rights of the fishing
communities
We demand a comprehensive legislation for the protection of the rights of the fishing
communities, coastal ecology and fishing and ocean resources. A mere notification which
is created by executive fiat with no legislative sanction is unacceptable to protect vast
areas of coastal environment and the homeland, livelihood and resource right s of the
traditional fishing communities and other coastal poor.
Some of the main Elements of such a comprehensive legislation would include:
 Right to Inalienable Traditional and Customary Rights of Fisher people over Coastal
Lands rivers, Lagoons, Back Waters, creeks, estuaries including the river beds.
 Protection of fishing peoples homestead land and traditional coastal lands.
 Right to inalienable Traditional and Customary Rights of Fisher people to ocean
resources including the ocean seabed.
 Ban on SEZs, Nuclear Power Plants, Polluting Industrial Projects, Desalination Pants,
Defence Project, Aquaculture, Shrimp Industries, Sand Mining, commercial ports and
harbours, etc.,
 Rights of traditional fishing people to any part of the coast line including fish landing
sites, fishing harbours for parking the boats, vending the nets, sale of fish.
 Conservation of Coastal and Marine Biodiversity that inter alia protects Traditional
Fisher peoples’ preferential access and historic User Rights to Coastal and Marine
Resources.
 Strict Statutory rules / licenses with regard to Import of Fish and Foreign Vessels
Fishing in Indian waters
Ensure the rights of women fish workers and vendors
The state should work with the central government to make necessary constitutional
amendments to ensure reservation for fishing community in the Panchayat government,
legislative assembly and parliament. The state should stop evicting the coastal community
in the name of permitting destructive development projects and tsunami reconstruction
plan.
The state and the central government should immediately make necessary legal
intervention to confer the status of workers to the women fish workers and bring a
comprehensive policy for the empowerment of the women fish workers at all levels
Stop Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and repeal the Tamil Nadu Industries Act
In the name of special economic zones nearly 37,000 TNCs have entered the Indian
market. Out of them, nearly, 200 companies are more powerful in terms of capital and
technology. Nokia, Microsoft, Pepsi, cocoa cola Sony, Samsung general motors Honda,
Hero Honda are some of the companies. The SEZ do not require public hearings or EIA
and need not follow any environmental standards, No labour laws are applicable. But to
set up SEZs in the coast they need clearance from the MOEF. But the following industries
are exempted from the requirement of environmental clearances. As a strategy deployed
to evict the fishing community, tourist resorts, entertainment parks /Theme parks, golf
grounds, IT sectors and desalination plants are some of such industries.
Ban Coal Fired Thermal Power Plants
Key Livelihood Impact such as Loss of access to grazing land, coastal forestry, Loss of
habitats, denial of approach roads, common pathways are some of the major issues.

6. 6
Stop all the coal fired thermal power plants due to destruction by tones of fly ash that
destroys the livelihood of the coastal communities, coastal ecology, agricultural lands and
marine resources.
Stop the functioning of Nuclear stations
It has been scientifically proved in that due to nuclear stations and toxic nuclear wastes
hundreds of people and children have been infected with terminal cancer and suffering
from thyroid and multiple myeloma.
Withdraw the Unscientific, Unviable Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project
Sethusamudhram Ship Canal Project will have a lasting impact on the biodiversity and
livelihood in the area and would destroy the livelihood of the traditional fishermen leading
to poverty. Any rehabilitation programme will only lead to evicting and uprooting fishing
people from their homeland.
Ban all Indian and Foreign Industrial Fishing Vessels as this displaces the traditional
fishing communities and these small scale fisheries.
The rights of the nearly 20 thousand sea shell collectors in 24 villages of Kanniyakumari
districts should be protected and proper welfare schemes should be designed and
implemented Plantation of Casuarina along the coast should be stopped and proper
vegetation that protects sand dunes should be planted.
Coastal Action Networks – Legal Interventions
 Sethusamuthram Shipping Canal Project
CAN represented by O. Fernandes, Co-Convenor in its petition before the High Court and
Supreme Court that the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Project was
undertaken rapidly and was unscientific is continuing in the Supreme Court without a final
decision. The Pachori committee report submitted in the Apex Court also stated that this
project was economically unviable and environmentally unsustainable.
Coastal Action Network as resisted this canal project as no international shipping can use
this canal nor was it environmentally sustainable. Any damage to the historical formation
of hardened corals (called adams bridge) will ruin the Gulf of Mannar marine biosphere
 Chettinad Thermal PowerProject
Litigation (Application No.114 of 2013) filed against clearance given by Ministry of
Environment and Forest (MoEF) for the proposed Thermal Power Plant at
Tharangampadi, Nagapattinam District by Chettinadu Power Corporation to setup a 660
MW x 2 = 1320 MW Thermal Power plant continues in the National Green Tribunal
Principal Bench, New Delhi. It was shifted from The National Green Tribunal, Southern
bench and since the judge was close to the Chettinad family he opted to recuse himself
and hence the petition was transferred to NGT principle bench, New Delhi.
 Halting building sea walls and shoulders(groynes) along the coast in Tamil
Nadu and Puducherry union territory
Litigation (Application No.4 of 2013) filed against building sea walls and shoulders
(groynes) along the coast of Pondicherry and some parts of Cuddalore and Villupuram
districts of Tamil Nadu filed in the National Green Tribunal, South Zone by O. Fernandes,
Co convenor, Coastal Action Network continues. This proposed solution to solving erosion
problem will only worsen erosion along the coast of Tamil Nadu. Hence the National
Green Tribunal Bench has called for evidence from the Tamil Nadu Coastal Zone
Management Authority and the National Coastal Zone Management Authority. So our

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case now covers all the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu and the coastal states along the
east coast which includes west Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry and Tamil
Nadu.
 Cheyyur 4000 Mw ultra-mega thermal power plant and captive port
This proposed captive marine terminal and coal conveyor of Panaiyur Chinnakkuppam
along with Cheyyur Ultra Mega Power Project 4000 MW by Ms. Coastal Tamil Nadu
Power Ltd., at Cheyyur, is proposed without any assessment of the possible impacts
along the coasts. We have filed litigation as Appeal No. 162/2013 at Nation Green
Tribunal, South Zone Bench at Chennai to call for the records and set aside the
Environmental and CRZ Clearance Ref. No. F.No. 10-18/2009-1A.III dated 30.11.2012
issued by the Ministry of Environmental Forest in respect of the Cheyyur Captive jetty for
the Ultra Mega Thermal Power Project. Pleading has been completed and arguments
were partly finished.
 Halting Coastal Zone management plans and maps as per CRZ 2011
Ossie Fernandes, Co-Convenor of CAN filed a litigation (Application No.141 / 2014) in
National Green Tribunal, Chennai to cancel the public hearings scheduled on various
dates and districts regarding CZMP’s and Maps as currently available is violative of 2011
CRZ Notification. Our contention is to declare the public hearings conducted for the
preparation of coastal zone management lans for Kanyakumari, Ramanathapuram,
Thoothukodi, Pudukottai and Tirunelveli districtss as invalid and to re-conduct the public
hearings for the purpose of preparation of coastal zone management plans, to direct the
respondent to upload CZMP 1996 including coastal zone management plans as per
requirement of CRZ 1991.
We request you to raise these demands and issues in the State Budget Session 2015
during the fisheries policy and demand.
Jesurethinam
Convenor,
Coastal Action Network
O. Fernandes
Co-convenor
Coastal Action Network
K.A.Matthews
State Committee Member,
Coastal Action Network
C. Sakthi Vadivel
Coastal Action Network
S. Vijayashankar
Advocate, Madras High Court