Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)

Under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 of India, notification was issued in February 1991, for regulation of activities in the coastal area by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). As per the notification, the coastal land up to 500m from the High Tide Line (HTL) and a stage of 100m along banks of creeks, estuaries, backwater and rivers subject to tidal fluctuations, is called the Coastal Regulation Zone(CRZ). CRZ along the country has been placed in four categories. The above notification includes only the inter-tidal zone and land part of the coastal area and does not include the ocean part. The notification imposed restriction on the setting up and expansion^[1] of industries or processing plaits etc. in the said CRZ. Coastal Regulation Zones(CRZ) are notified by the govt of India in 1991 for the first time. Under this coastal areas have been classified as CRZ-1, CRZ-2, CRZ-3, CRZ-4. And the same they retained for CRZ in 2003 notifications as well.