- In Puducherry and Karaikal, communities protested against India’s coastal zoning policy map prepared on a 1:25,000 scale as it missed several commons and eco-critical zones.
- Smaller scale maps in the scale 1:4,000, based on which infrastructure projects are supposed to be cleared, are difficult for communities to access.
- Explore the issue through the interactive map.
From above, the fish drying centre in Arikampettai, Karaikkal, in Puducherry district is barely visible — a thin strip of concrete with bamboo huts and blue tarpaulin sheets. But on the ground, this small patch sustains entire fishing communities. Women from the villages of Akkampettai, Kilinjalmedu and Karaikalmedu depend on spaces like these to dry the fish, which they sell later. Fishermen use the area to park boats, mend nets and repair engines. Children play here in the evenings.
The Coastal Regulation Zone notification, aimed at protecting fragile coastal ecosystems, categorises land up to 500 metres from the high tide line into zones, with each zone receiving different kinds of protection. A key part of this zoning exercise is drafting the Coastal Zone Management Plans (CZMP). The CRZ notification mandates that states and union territories draft these plans and seek public consultation before seeking approval from the central environment ministry.
Yet when these coastal maps are drawn at a scale where a single grid spans nearly 196 square kilometres, these shared coastal commons almost disappear, making it difficult for communities to meaningfully contest or shape plans that govern their coastline.
Shreya Raman is a resident fellow at the Climate Change Media Hub, Asian College of Journalism.
Banner image: A map of a fishing village in Karaikal made by the community to oppose the exclusion of their villages in the government-released CZM maps. Across Puducherry, villages made their own maps, geotagged them, and used them to create evidence of the omission of villages and commons. Image by Shreya Raman.
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