CRZ is divided into four main categories as per CRZ Notification, 2011:

• CRZ-I: Ecologically sensitive areas, such as mangroves, coral reefs, sand dunes, Mud flats and national parks, Marine Parks, Sanctuaries, reserve forests, salt marshes, Turtle nesting grounds, horse shoe crabs, sea grass beds, Nesting grounds of birds, archaeological importance and heritage sites.
• CRZ-II: Developed areas within municipal limits and legally designated urban areas provided with drainage and approach roads and other infrastructural facilities such as water supply, sewerage mains
• CRZ-III: Rural and relatively undisturbed areas and not belongs to either CRZ I or II
• CRZ-IV: Coastal areas around islands and areas influenced by tidal waves.

As per CRZ Notification, 2011 the activities like traditional fishing, agriculture, salt farming, repairs of existing structures, and infrastructure projects for public utilities etc., may be permitted, subject to permissions and guidelines.

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Setting up of new industries or expansion of manufacture or handling oil storage or disposal of hazardous substances, mining, and large-scale projects setting up and expansion of fish processing units including warehousing, land reclamation, bunding or disturbing the natural course of seawater, disposal of waste, dumping of debris solid waste, fly discharge of untreated waste and effluents from industries, mining of sand, rocks drawl of ground water, altering sand dunes etc are restricted within specified distances from the coastline depending on the CRZ category.

The District Coastal Zone Management Authorities (DCZMA) functioning under the Chairmanship of the respective Coastal District Collectors were formed by the State Government in 1998. It is a district level recommending body to TNSCZMA. There are 14 coastal districts in Tamil Nadu. They are Chennai, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Tiruvallur, Cuddalore, Thanjavur, Pudukkottai, Nagapattinam, Thiruvarur, Mayiladuthurai, Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Kanyakumari.

The Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority (TNSCZMA) is an agency tasked with implementing the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification in Tamil Nadu. The development or construction activities in different categories of CRZ shall be regulated by TNCZMA in accordance with CRZ Notification. It is a State level recommending body, recommending the proposal to MoEFCC /SEIAA based on the nature of project for CRZ clearance having office at Chennai. The composition of the TNSCZMA is given below.

Composition of the Authority

Chairman : Secretary, Environment Dept., of the concerned State

Member-Secretary : Director, Environment Department

5-6 ex. officio Members: Department of Environment, Urban Development, Fisheries, Industry, Pollution Control Board, local bodies.

Expert Members (4 Nos.) : By Name

NGO (1 No.) : By Name

TNSCZMA reviews development proposals in CRZ areas as per CRZ notification to ensure that they comply with environmental regulations and do not harm coastal ecosystems.

Proposals for permissible activities in CRZ areas must be submitted to theTNSCZMA after recommendation of DCZMA for scrutiny.

You can check the CRZ status of your land by consulting the approved Coastal Zone Management Plans (CZMP) prepared by State government and approved by Govt. of India.

Based on the CRZ Notification, 2011, the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan maps for entire coastal area of Tamil Nadu were uploaded in the Departments website (www.environment.tn.gov.in / www.tnsczma.gov.in), in 117 maps. The CZMPs having Village / Taluk /District Boundary along with the individual survey numbers. Anyone can verify whether the area is falls in CRZ (or) by approaching the State Coastal Zone Management Authority (SCZMA).

TNe-GA has implemented the TNGIS website to display the locations within CRZ areas clarified through this links (https://tngis.tn.gov.in/generic_viewer/ & https://tngis.tn.gov.in)

All projects attracting this notification shall be considered for CRZ Clearance as per the following procedure, namely: -

I. The project proponents shall apply with the following documents seeking prior clearance under CRZ Notification to the concerned State or the Union territory Coastal Zone Management Authority, -

• a) Form-1 (Annexure-IV of the notification)
• b) Rapid EIA Report including marine and terrestrial component expect for construction projects listed under 4(c) and (d)
• c) Comprehensive EIA with cumulative studies for projects in the stretches classified as low and medium eroding by MoEFCC based on scientific studies and in consultation with the State Governments and Union territory Administration.
• d) Disaster Management Report, Risk Assessment Report and Management Plan,
• e) CRZ Map indicating HTL and LTL demarcated by one of the authorised agencies in 1:4000 scale.(The Institute of Remote Sensing, Anna University, Chennai and National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Anna University campus, Chennai are the authorized agencies situated at Tamil Nadu)
• f) Project Layout Superimposed on the above map indicated at (e) above
• g) The CRZ map normally covering 7 KM radius around the project site.
• h) The CRZ map indicating the CRZ-I, II, III and IV areas including other notified ecologically sensitive areas

II. No objection Certificate (NOC) from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Chennai for the projects involving discharge of effluents, solid wastes, sewage and the like.

III. The applicant should submit the application to DCZMA. Once the DCZMA (District Coastal Zone Management Authority) is satisfied with the application, it forwards the documents to the State Coastal Zone Management Authority (SCZMA) for further review.

IV. After the documents are reviewed and recommended by the DCZMA, they are forwarded to the State Coastal Zone Management Authority (SCZMA). The SCZMA will then scrutinize the documents. Once satisfied with the completeness and compliance, the SCZMA will issue a letter to the Project Proponent (PP) advising them to apply for CRZ clearance through the Parivesh 2.0 portal.

V. The SCZMA shall examine the above documents with the approved CZMP and in compliance with the CRZ Notification and make recommendations within a period of sixty days from the date of receipt of complete application.

VI. Oncethe application is accepted, the Technical Scrutiny Committee will hold a meeting to review the application and the Project Proponent will give the details explanation of the Project and provide their remarks on it.

VII. The Project application will be accepted by the Technical Committee and subsequently presented at the Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority (TNSCZMA) meeting for further consideration. According to this, the Project Proponent (PP) shall provide a detailed explanation about the project during this meeting.

VIII. After considering the deliberation of the project, TNSCZMA will recommend the application to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) / State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) / concerned Local Planning Authorities (DTCP / CMDA), for CRZ clearance, depending on the project.

IX. The Clearance accorded to the projects under the CRZ Notification shall be valid for a period of ten years from the date of issue of the clearance for commencement of the construction and operation, as per CRZ Notification, 2011.

The PARIVESH (Pro-Active and Responsive facilitation by Interactive, Virtuous, and Environmental Single-window Hub) portal is an online platform developed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Government of India. It facilitates online submission, monitoring, and management of proposals submitted by project proponents to obtain environmental, forest, wildlife, and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearances. The website address is www.parivesh.nic.in (MoEFCC)

The portal can be used by project proponents, consultants, and various stakeholders such as state and central government agencies responsible for reviewing and approving proposals.

• Environmental Clearance (EC)
• Forest Clearance (FC)
• Wildlife Clearance
• Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Clearance

The applicant remits Demand Draft in favour of Director, Department of Environment and climate change the below scrutiny fee based on the project cost as per the CRZ Notification,2011, based on the G.O. (Ms) No. 107, Environment, Climate Change & Forest Department, dated 06.07.2024.

MoEFCC and SEIAA shall consider clearance based on the recommendation of the TNCZMA within period of 60 days.

Yes, CRZ clearance can be revoked if there are violations of the conditions specified in the approval or in cases of environmental harm.

Detailed information can be found on TNSCZMA website (www.environment.tn.gov.in / www.tnsczma.gov.in) or by contacting the SCZMA office phone number: 044-24336594.

Complaints about violations in CRZ areas can be reported to the TNSCZMA through e.mail tndoe@nic.in / tamilnadudoe@gmail.com (or) may write a letter to Member-Secretary, TNSCZMA / Director Department of Environment & Climate Change, Panagal Building, Saidapet, Chennai.

The contact details of the district level coastal zone management authorities are given below.