The New Indian Express              02.08.2013

Though the erstwhile panchayats— Elathur, Cheruvannur- Nallalam and Beypore—were incorporated to the City Corporation way back in 2009, they still remain panchayats, at least as per the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). The Coastal Regulation Zone notification 2011, issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has classified the environmentally fragile coastal areas into four zones- from CRZ-I to CRZ-IV. As per the classification, areas in Kozhikode Corporation limit fall under the CRZ-II, excluding the three erstwhile panchayats. These panchayats still remain in the CRZIII category.

The City Corporation Council had passed a resolution urging the Union Government to notify the inclusion of the three merged panchayats in the CRZ-II category, in 2011. However, Corporation authorities said that the process had reached nowhere. According to the CRZ notification 2011, areas between Low Tide Line (LTL) and High Tide Line (HTL) come under CRZ-II, which means the areas that have been developed upto or close to the shoreline. In general “developed areas” are included in the category.

Meanwhile, CRZ-III is defined as areas that are relatively undisturbed and those do not belong to either CRZ-I or II, which include coastal zone in the rural areas (developed and undeveloped). Officials say that having different scales of CRZ in the same local body is affecting building constructions and the building plans getting approval. “As they have been merged with the Corporation, all the three (erstwhile) panchayats should come under CRZ-II.

But the process has been delayed, mainly affecting the construction and development activities in these areas. A huge number of applications for building plan approval are pending before the corporation,” said A M Jayan, Secretary, Calicut Development Authority (CDA). He was earlier an engineer with the City Corporation. In CRZ-III area, upto 200mts from HTL on the landward side in case of seafront and 100 mts along tidal-influenced water bodies or width of the creek, whichever is less, is to be earmarked as “No Development Zone” (NDZ), while in CRZ-II, buildings are permitted on the landward side of the existing road, or on the landward side of existing authorised structures.

“There is a need to prepare a map identifying the areas that fall under CRZ-II category in the erstwhile panchayats. Then it is for the Union Government to issue the order notifying the three incorporated panchayats in the CRZ-II. However, nothing has been done so far,” Jayan added.

CRZ-II and CRZ-III as per CRZ notification 2011

CRZ II is referred to as 'developed area', or the area within the existing municipal limits or in other existing legally designated urban areas which are substantially built up and has been provided with drainage and approach roads and other infrastructure facilities, as water supply and sewerage.

CRZ III denotes areas that are relatively undisturbed and those do not belong to either CRZ-I or II. Coastal zone in the rural areas (developed and undeveloped) and areas within municipal limits or in other legally designated urban areas, which are not substantially built up, come under this category.