- India’s chief audit authority found that Tamil Nadu’s coastal watchdog cleared projects for development without authorisation.
- Fishing harbours were cleared despite the state’s plan for coastal management and protection being under development.
- The audit report also found that complaints about violations remained unaddressed.
From fishing harbours and fish landing centres to luxury resorts, the Tamil Nadu coast is burdened by infrastructure projects that did not obtain environmental clearance or proper authorisation, finds an audit report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, the authority responsible for auditing government finances and ensuring accountability in public spending.
Tamil Nadu has the second longest coastline in the country and is the fifth-highest ranking state in marine fish production. Between 2022 and 2023, the state produced 175.45 lakh (17.5 million) metric tonnes of fish produce, according to the state fisheries department.
The report by India’s chief audit authority, however, mentions several projects supporting fish production which are operational without proper clearances. Instead of enforcing the rules, the state’s coastal watchdog, the Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority (TNSCZMA), “assumed the role of granting authority” for such projects, as per the report.
Projects found in violation of coastal regulation norms include flagship government projects such as the Tuna Fishing Harbour in Thiruvottiyur (costing Rs. 275 crore/2.75 billion) and the renovation of the Mudhunagar fishing harbour project in Cuddalore, designed to have a capacity of 9730 tons per annum and supported by the government’s Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PM-MSY) a scheme which seeks to address gaps in fishery infrastructure “through sustainable and responsible development”.
The audit report also finds that the local communities were left out from District Coastal Zone Management Authorities (DCZMA), bodies set up under the TNSCZMA which are responsible for ground level enforcement of coastal regulations and are empowered to review cases of violation. Local communities are mandated to be included in the DCZMAs.
K. Bharati, president of the South Indian Fishermen’s Welfare Association, calls the CAG report a “pleasant surprise,” and one that understood the situation of fishers well. “There should definitely be an inclusion of fishing communities in decision making. It is a rule as part of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) that each district must have a fishing communities representative, but that has not always been the case,” he says, adding, “Very recently, three representatives from fishing communities were chosen in Chennai, but it’s a slow change.”
Experts point out the need for a thorough mapping of coastal zones to support the implementation of coastal regulations. The National Green Tribunal directed Tamil Nadu’s state coastal authority to revise its coastal zone maps in October 2024, after they were found to be incomplete.
Projects without proper clearances
Coastal projects are regulated by the Coastal Regulation Zone notification under the Environment Protection Act, 1986. The notification was introduced by the central government in the interest of protecting unique coastal ecosystems, such as mangroves and coral reefs.
The 2011 CRZ notification divides coastal areas into four zonal categories, each with distinct regulations. For example, CRZ 1 areas are ecologically sensitive and generally prohibit new constructions, with a few exceptions. The State Coastal Zone Management Authorities (SCZMAs) are responsible for are responsible for mapping these zones, enforcing norms, and reviewing projects seeking permission to operate in these zones. At most, the SCZMAs can recommend projects to the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority or the Ministry of Environment for final clearance.
“One major problem is that our authorities are not very familiar with the coastal zone regulations,” says M. Vetriselvan, an advocate with the Chennai-based environmental organisation Poovulagin Nanbargal. “The second problem is that coastal zone mapping has not been done properly across the state, so there is a lack of knowledge about which land falls under which zone.”
The CAG report states that of the 175 projects cleared in Tamil Nadu between 2015 and 2022, 114 were approved by the state coastal authority itself, leading to “inadequate scrutiny of project proposals.” According to the report, 23 out of 30 projects cleared by the TNSCZMA were found to release effluents and discharge into the ocean and set up operations without first obtaining the mandatory No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the state pollution board.
Four out of eight fishing harbour foreshore facilities cleared by the TNSCZMA were done in the absence of a Shoreline Protection Management Plan, a framework for managing and protecting coastal areas from environmental impacts while balancing development needs. According to news reports, the Shoreline Plan is currently awaiting approval by the Central government and is yet to be released for public comments.
The Mudhunagar Fishing Harbour was found to be in violation of the CRZ notification because it added a host of new facilities which were not assessed for impacts. These facilities include the establishment of a sewage treatment plant, cold storage facility, auction halls, and restaurants, among others. The project also did not compensate for the impact on the removal of mangroves during construction, the audit found.
TNSCZMA says that the clearance was awarded with “a specific condition that the activity should not have any adverse impact on the marine organisms”. However, CAG calls this response “untenable.”
“The impact on the mangrove ecosystem could be compensated by a full-fledged afforestation activity or by widening and deepening of river mouth which would bring large quantities of tidal water to help in the growth of mangroves,” the CAG report says, adding: “Audit, however, observed that the CRZ clearance granted by TNSCZMA did not indicate the measures of compensation for the damages to the ecosystem.”
According to Vetriselvan, the clearances awarded for violating projects should be cancelled. “A new clearance process should be done, otherwise it will be a failure of the constitutional mechanisms set up under CAG.”
Complaints unaddressed
The CAG report also found that complaints about violations were not addressed by the TNSCZMA. One of these complaints was filed by Bharati of the South Indian Fishermen’s Welfare Association in 2019, regarding an illegal concrete structure in Nemmeli village, Chengalpattu, around 60 kilometres away from Chennai. The structure was built in the intertidal zone of the coast, falling in CRZ 1, notes the complaint. “While it didn’t impact fishing activities, if more such structures are allowed, it could lead to more erosion of the coast. Despite the complaint, the structure still hasn’t been removed,” Bharati informs Mongabay India.
The Golden Bay luxury resort in Koovathur shot to fame in 2017 for housing members of the legislative assembly when the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was facing a floor test. But the CAG report finds that the resort had no clearances, and that TNSCZMA failed to act on the complaints of fishermen who said the property fell in the No Development Zone of the CRZ notification.
“Scrutiny of records revealed that the complainant obtained information through RTI that no clearance was given under CRZ and building plan approval was not taken for the project,” the report says. Despite show cause notices sent to the resort from the Tamil Nadu State Pollution Control Board and other authorities, “the fact remained that no effective action was taken on the unauthorised construction even after the completion of six years from receipt of the complaint,” as per the report.
As per the audit report, the Tamil Nadu government has taken cognisance of CAG’s findings and has said that clearances have been redirected to the appropriate authorities since 2022.
Vetriselvan says that though the CAG report hasn’t mentioned the coastal zone mapping exercise, the maps have a significant bearing on the implementation of coastal regulations. “The National Green Tribunal was surprised to see that the coastal maps left out ecologically sensitive areas and fishing hamlets.”
Acting on the petition of activists and fishermen in the state, the NGT ordered the TNCZMA in October 2024 to conduct a ground truthing exercise and verify, with satellite data, the eco-sensitive zones along the coast, as well as to include the fishing areas of local communities. “Without a proper knowledge of what falls under each zone, authorities will not be able to properly regulate the coast,” Vetriselvan informs Mongabay India.
Read more: Artisanal fishers wary of coastal aquaculture regulation amendments that legalise past violations
Banner image: A stretch of the Marina beach in Chennai. Image by KARTY JazZ via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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