With the Kerala state coastal zone management authority (KCZMA) asking the national centre for earth science studies (NCESS) to categorize 154 coastal panchayats as Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)-II based on coastal zone management plan (CZMP)-2019, at least 25 coastal panchayats in the district are likely to come under the CRZ-II.
At a time when unusual rainfall events and cyclonic storms loom large over Kochi, which is seen vulnerable to https://exam.pscnotes.com/Climate-change”>Climate Change, it is seen as a welcome move by the local bodies looking forward to clear applications for permits to construct and reconstruct homes.
As per the order, 44 panchayats in Ernakulam district will become census towns, which will turn many of the coastal panchayats into CRZ-II. According to the GO, these panchayats will be designated as urban areas for spatial plan formulation and it authorized chief town planner to map the census towns to those grama panchayats which fall wholly or partly within them.