Just 40% of India’s coastline is stable, while 34% is under varying degree of erosion, data from the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences shows. Also, Goa and Maharashtra top in stability among states.
According to the data analysed from 1990 to 2018, 2,318.31 km of the 6,907.18-km Indian coastline is under varying degree of erosion. Just 2,733.86 km (39.6%) of the coastline is stable, while 1,855.03 km (26.9%) is of accreting nature, wherein the coastal sediment returns to the visible portion of a beach after a submersion event. The data was presented in Parliament in the last session.
The National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), Chennai, an attached office of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), has been monitoring the shoreline erosion since 1990 using remote sensing data and GIS mapping techniques.
When compared, the West Coast of India, with Kerala being an exception, is in more stable than the Eastern Coast.
The West Coast includes Gujarat, Daman and Diu, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala, while the East Coast has Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal.
The states with the most stable coastlines are Goa (67.1%), Maharashtra (64.6%), Daman and Diu (53.7%), Gujarat (53%) and Karnataka (50.1%) – all on the West coast.
On the other hand, the state-wise data shows that more than 40% erosion is reported in four states/UT, with West Bengal being the worst. The state has reported 60.5% erosion, followed by Puducherry (56.2%), Kerala (46.4%) and Tamil Nadu (42.7%) coast.
Accretion was dominant along the Odisha coast at 51%. It was followed by Andhra Pradesh (49.6%) and Karnataka (26.2%).
The Ministry stated that coastal protection measures include development of integrated coastal zone management plan, prevention of soil erosion, shelterbelt plantation, mangrove plantation, strengthening and promoting ecosystem monitoring, biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihood of coastal communities. These are primarily the responsibility of states/Union Territories.
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