The Human Rights Forum (HRF) condemns the move by the Andhra Pradesh government to seek reclassification of stretches of the Visakhapatnam Beach Road from Coastal Regulatory Zone III (CRZ -III) to CRZ–II under the coastal regulation framework. This reclassification, purportedly aimed at promoting tourism, is effectively an attempt to dilute existing regulatory safeguards governing ecologically sensitive coastal areas to enable intensified commercial expansion.
HRF is of the considered view that this proposal constitutes a serious threat to coastal ecology, weakens disaster resilience and undermines the rights and livelihoods of traditional coastal communities. It is environmentally unsustainable, legally untenable and socially unjust.
As is known, CRZ–III areas comprise relatively undisturbed coastal stretches including sand dunes, wetlands and open coastal commons. They sustain traditional fishing communities whose livelihoods depend on ecological balance and unobstructed access to these shared natural resources. These landscapes function as critical ecological buffers that act as natural shields against cyclones, tidal surges, shoreline erosion and saline intrusion. The State’s coastline has repeatedly suffered severe cyclones, including Cyclone Hudhud and Cyclone Titli. In a context of escalating climate crisis marked by intensifying extreme weather events, weakening these natural defences in the name of tourism amounts to irresponsible governance.
Reclassifying these stretches from CRZ–III to CRZ–II would open presently protected areas to significantly higher levels of construction and commercial exploitation. It substitutes precaution with profit and long-term ecological security with short term market-driven expansion. What is being branded as ‘tourism promotion’ is, in effect, calculated regulatory dilution intended to facilitate real estate expansion along our vulnerable and hazard-prone coastal belt.
This proposal is consistent with the regressive approach of the State government towards coastal regulation. We recall Tourism Minister K Durgesh stating in the State Assembly in March last year that tourism development along the coast was being ‘hampered’ by CRZ norms and that the government would seek relaxations to overcome these restrictions. Such a position reduces statutory environmental safeguards as administrative impediments rather than essential protections. It clearly signals a willingness to dilute binding frameworks in order to prioritise commercial expansion over ecological security and the customary rights of fisherfolk.
Rather than pursuing a destructive reclassification, the State government must confront and address the grave environmental crisis already engulfing Visakhapatnam. This winter, the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) has averaged around 190, placing it squarely in the ‘unhealthy’ category. The causes are well known: polluting industries operating with impunity, unchecked emissions, spiralling vehicular density and unregulated and reckless urban expansion. The situation demands urgent and decisive intervention. Enforcing compliance and holding polluters accountable would signal responsible governance. Eroding coastal safeguards, by contrast, betrays a profoundly distorted set of priorities and a skewed understanding of development.
HRF demands immediate withdrawal of the reclassification proposal. CRZ–III areas are not expendable spaces or vacant expanses waiting to be opened up for profit-driven exploitation. They are relatively undisturbed coastal stretches that function as vital natural barriers. Coastal regulation exists to protect people and safeguard valuable ecosystems, not to clear the path for private construction and speculative expansion. Any attempt to dilute coastal regulation in the name of development is fundamentally misguided and amounts to ecological vandalism. The present proposal endangers critical coastal habitats, accelerates their degradation and risks irreversible damage. It must be rescinded without delay.
Y Rajesh – HRF AP State General Secretary
VS Krishna – HRF AP&TG Coordination Committee member
26-2-2026,
Visakhapatnam.