Kolkata, Nov. 2 -- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Bengal government and the state Coastal Zone Management Authority to implement a comprehensive coastal protection plan for Sagar Island, warning of extensive erosion and coastal degradation amid rising sea levels.
Disposing of a suo motu case on rising sea levels and their impact on the Ganga Sagar Mela, the NGT's Eastern Zone Bench on Friday directed the authorities to implement the recommendations of the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) and the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) plan for the island.
The bench comprised Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi, judicial member, and expert members A Senthil Vel and Ishwar Singh. It directed the state Coastal Zone Management Authority to submit a comprehensive action-taken report within six months.
The NCSCM assessment found that 63 per cent of the area within the identified hazard line was at high risk and another 18 per cent at very high risk. Its satellite-based study showed that 44.55 per cent of the coastline had experienced long-term erosion, rising to 54.67 per cent in the short term.
The recommendations include developing living shorelines in erosion-prone Sibpur, expanding mangrove plantations to trap sediments and periodically replenishing the beach near the Kapil Muni temple with dredged material to restore the shoreline and strengthen ecological resilience.
The state informed the tribunal that five coastal protection projects covering 4.68 km were underway at an estimated cost of Rs 61.84 crore. It also cited a proposed Rs 4,100-crore Lower Sundarban programme covering 39 vulnerable islands, including Sagar.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.