Coastal protection rules to be diluted: Bonanza for tourism, realty sectors

Ecotourism projects, link roads, coastal roads would now be allowed in ecologically sensitive areas

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is preparing to overhaul the environmental regulations which protect the 7,500-km coastal belt from overdevelopment and exploitation.

In a bonanza, particularly for the tourism and real estate sectors, the draft proposes easing several key provisions to allow development activity on the coasts. A copy of the draft, under the final stage of inter-ministerial consultations, was accessed under the Right to Information Act by Delhi-based CPR-Namati Environment Justice Program and reviewed by Business Standard. 

The draft would be put out for mandatory public consultations once inputs from other ministries have been considered, said a government