Coastal zone (CRZ) check before building a house in Kerala
On your checklist as: “Coastal zone screen done”
Within 500 m of the High Tide Line, or 100 m of tidal water, special rules apply - and a permit issued in breach of them is void. In Maradu, occupied flats were demolished for exactly this. This check flags whether your plot needs the authority's answer.
What to look at
- The plot's position on the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan map
- The CRZ category
- Any Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority clearance for prior construction
How to check it yourself
Screen — do not certify — whether the plot lies in a Coastal Regulation Zone, using the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan maps held by the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority. The regulated zone extends up to 500 metres landward of the High Tide Line, and 100 metres or the creek width, whichever is less, along tidal-influenced water bodies. There are four categories: CRZ-I ecologically sensitive, CRZ-II developed urban, CRZ-III rural, CRZ-IV water area. Prior State Coastal Zone Management Authority clearance is mandatory.
Where this comes from: Environment (Protection) Act 1986 s.3; CRZ Notification 2019 (S.O. 114(E)), superseding CRZ 2011 and the 1991 notification; Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority CZMP maps (required by law)
More plot and land checks before you build
- Land documents verified
- Soil test (SBC) completed
- Building rules feasibility checked
- Utilities and site risks screened
- Paddy land Data Bank status checked
- Encumbrance certificate obtained
- Designer has visited the plot
- Measured survey plan in hand