Karnataka coast in peril, Minister’s reply to MP reveals lurking danger

New Delhi: Nearly Half Of Dakshina Kannada’s Coastline Under Erosion; Response To Loksabha Question By MP Captain Brijesh Chowta Reveals

Almost half of the coast of Dakshina Kannada is under erosion reveals a response to a Loksabha question by MP Captain Brijesh Chowta.

In a written reply to the question regarding the impact of coastal erosion, data provided by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change has revealed that around 48.4 percent of the total coastline of 36.66 km of Dakshina Kannada has eroded between between 1990-2018.

Minister of State in the MoEFC Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh, provided the written response to an unstarred question raised by Captain Brijesh Chowta balloted for response on 25-11-2024.

Captain Brijesh Chowta in a question to the ministry had sought to know whether any studies have been undertaken to assess the sea-level rise and its impact on the country’s coastal region and if so, the details thereof specially for the State of Karnataka, including Dakshina Kannada.

Additionally, he had also asked

(b) whether the Government has any plans to address the threat of coastal erosion arising from this threat of rising sea-levels;

(c) if so, whether there is any policy to secure the lives or rehabilitate those who are at the threat of losing their land each year owing to coastal erosion and rising sea levels; and

(d) whether there are any coastal protection measures and shoreline management efforts that have been put in place for the vulnerable coastal stretches of the State of Karnataka.

While the numbers for Karnataka overall are comparatively less alarming as around 50% of the state’s coast is in stable conditions, 26% and 24% is under accretion and erosion respectively, says the response.

This is data based on a study conducted by the National Centre for Coastal Research, (NCCR), an attached office of MoES, which has monitored the shoreline changes for the entire Indian coastline using multi-spectral satellite images along with field-surveyed data for the period 1990-2018.

As per NCCR study, it has been observed that 33.6% of the Indian coastline is under erosion, 26.9% is under accretion (growing) and 39.6% is in a stable state.

For Dakshina Kannada, the erosion is reported at 17.74 km of its total 36.66 km coastline.

The response also provides measures being undertaken by the central govt to check coastal erosion and protect those affected by it as well as the roles of the respective state governments in this regard.

The Government of Karnataka has prepared the Shoreline Management Plan in compliance to the provisions of CRZ Notification, 2019. Further, Government Karnataka is in the process of implementation of Karnataka Strengthening Coastal Resilience and the Economy (K- SHORE) Project under World Bank assistance, with an objective to enhance coastal protection and resilience of coastal infrastructure, strengthening of livelihood of the coastal communities and tackling of marine plastic pollution, said the response.