State govt. yet to submit proposal for IIMPs, says Union Minister
He was replying to Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden's question in the Lok Sabha on whether the Centre proposed to implement IIMPs to meet the unique environmental and infrastructure needs of island communities in Ernakulam, thus enhancing their quality of life and safeguarding their ecosystem.
Mr. Singh said that the Ministry had approved the Coastal Zone Management Plans (CZMPs) for all coastal districts, including Ernakulam, through a letter dated October 16, 2024. IIMPs are prepared as per the CRZ Notification 2019 and are approved based on the proposal received from the State government. The Government of Kerala is yet to submit the IIMP proposal, he said.
The MP had asked whether the government had plans to consider reassessing 13 excluded panchayats in Ernakulam for CRZ-II classification, given their urban-like characteristics and the essential development needs of their residents. It included Alangad, Chendamangalam, Chittattukara, Ezhikkara, Kadungalloor, Karumaloor, Kottuvally, Kunnukara, Puthenvelikkara, Udayamperoor, Vadakkekkara, Kuzhuppilly, and Pallippuram.
The Minister said that the CZMP of Kerala was approved by the Ministry through a letter dated October 16, 2024, based on the recommendation of the technical scrutiny committee meeting held on March 1, 2024, and the recommendations of the National Coastal Zone Management Authority at its 47th meeting held on September 23, 2024. Thereafter, the Ministry has not received any further proposal to date for the inclusion of remaining panchayats in Category-II of the CRZ classification, he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
33 minutes ago
- The Hindu
An unsurprising judgment
As the Central government prepares for the next delimitation exercise, which will redraw constituency boundaries based on the first Census after 2026, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were waiting for their Assembly constituencies to be increased, as promised in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. However, a recent Supreme Court judgment has dampened their hopes. According to the 2014 Act, the number of seats in the Legislative Assemblies was to be increased from 175 to 225 in Andhra Pradesh and from 119 to 153 in Telangana. However, the delimitation process was stalled as the Census could not be conducted in 2020-21 — first because of the COVID-19 pandemic and later for various other reasons. Telangana has represented the matter to the Central government on many occasions. The State government brought it up during meetings convened by the Union Home Ministry to resolve bilateral issues between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh post-bifurcation and also during Southern Zonal Council meetings held under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah from time to time. In a letter addressed to Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi in June 2016, the then Telangana Chief Secretary, Rajiv Sharma, recalled the provision made under Section 26 of the Act for delimitation of constituencies in the two States. As the new State of Telangana came into existence with effect from June 2, 2014, Mr. Sharma requested the Home Ministry to place the matter before the Election Commission of India (ECI) for increasing seats in the Telangana Legislative Assembly from 119 to 153 as envisaged in the Act as soon as possible. Telangana's former Chief Electoral Officer, Rajat Kumar, also spoke of the impact of transferring a few mandals of Khammam district in Telangana to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh post-bifurcation. He said that the three constituencies were reserved for Scheduled Tribes. Professor K. Purushottam Reddy filed a plea in the Supreme Court seeking readjustment of seats in the Assemblies of the two States, pointing to the exercise in Jammu and Kashmir as a precedent. In its judgment last week, the Supreme Court ruled out delimitation of constituencies till the completion and publication of the Census, which is expected to start in 2026. The Court dismissed his petition saying granting relief would be 'contrary to the letter and spirit of constitutional design'. It said that 'Article 170 [which deals with composition of Legislative Assemblies in States] has no application to Union Territories...' It said that the Centre therefore did not discriminate against the electorates of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, nor dampen their legitimate expectations by conducting delimitation of constituencies in the Union Territory of J&K, which was being governed by a distinct constitutional and statutory regime. Justice Surya Kant also explained that there was a specific constitutional embargo in Article 170 stating that delimitation in States was barred until after the completion of the first Census post 2026. Article 170(3) lays down that 'upon the completion of each Census, the total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of each State and the division of each State into territorial constituencies shall be readjusted by such authority in such a manner as Parliament by law determine'. The next Census, scheduled to begin in 2026, is likely to be conducted in two phases. The official headcount and house-listing process that will precede it are expected to be completed by March 1, 2027. The numbers will take a few years to be finalised and released. The Delimitation Commission can base its work only on the published Census figures and this could further delay the delimitation exercise in the two States. This means that the exercise will start only after the publication of the next Census data. While the verdict has dashed the hopes of the States, it is also unsurprising. No political party, including the Bharat Rashtra Samithi which claims to have played a crucial role in drafting the Act, seems to have paid notice to the wording of the Act. As former MP B. Vinod Kumar rightly said at a press conference, simply adding the words 'notwithstanding Section 170 sub clause 3' in the 2014 Act would have resolved the problem. If that had been done, delimitation in these two States would possibly not have been clubbed with delimitation across the country.
The Hindu
33 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Slum demolitions in Delhi: Cong. MP raises issue in Lok Sabha
Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Wednesday criticised the Delhi government, raising concern over the slum demolitions in the Capital during the Zero Hour of the Lok Sabha. This comes days after the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, visited areas where demolitions had taken place. Alleging that thousands of families were rendered homeless by the demolition of slums, he said it was being done in violation of existing policies of rehabilitation. 'Before elections, the ruling party [BJP] spent nights in the same slums, and they made assurances 'jahan jhuggi, wahan makaan (A home where the slum stands), but now after the elections, it has become 'jahan jhuggi, wahan bulldozer (A bulldozer where the slum stands)'. This is not governance, it is abandonment. It is time for this House to take notice, because how we treat the poorest amongst us is not a side issue, but it is the very soul of our Constitution,' Mr. Tagore said. Meanwhile, Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav on Wednesday said that after Mr. Gandhi visited the demolished slum areas of the Capital, the Congress moved two adjournment motions in Parliament. 'Although BJP allowed the adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha today, nobody from the government gave a reply on the JJ Cluster demolition issue raised by LoP Rahul Gandhi, which raises the question of why BJP allowed the said adjournment motion when it did not want to answer the issues raised by Mr. Gandhi,' he said. Mr. Yadav said that all seven BJP Lok Sabha MPs from the Capital seemed to be unconcerned about the plight of the slum dwellers, or else, they would have spoken in favour of the slum dwellers in the House. 'The BJP government has destroyed more than 3000 slum clusters in its five months in power by breaking the promise of providing 3.5 lakh in-situ flats with all the basic civic services and ownership rights to the poor,' Mr. Yadav said. He added that the Delhi Congress will launch a campaign to get justice for the slum dwellers in every respect, including alternate accommodation for the displaced, who have played a major role in the development of Delhi. On Sunday, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta assured that her government will ensure proper rehabilitation of 'eligible' slum dwellers displaced due to development projects.
Economic Times
33 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Five rounds of India-US trade talks held so far: Centre
New Delhi: India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) negotiations were launched in March 2025, with five rounds held so far -the most recent from July 14-18 in Washington, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada told the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Tuesday. The two countries aim to negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector BTA by fall 2025. The US has imposed a 25% tariff on automobile imports and certain auto parts from all countries, including India. These tariffs took effect on April 3, 2025, for automobiles, and on May 3, 2025, for auto parts. "India has taken requisite steps to reserve all its rights consistent with the provisions of WTO Agreements," Prasada added. In a separate reply, the Lok Sabha was informed that the US has not yet imposed any additional tariffs specifically on BRICS countries. "While the US had announced a reciprocal tariff of 26% on certain Indian exports, including seafood, this has not been implemented. Currently, the US has imposed an additional 10% duty on seafood imports, regardless of country of origin - including those from India and Ecuador," Prasada said. He added that the government remains committed to supporting India's seafood sector through sustained diplomatic engagement and policy support.
