Joint committee report on shrimp farms in Keelarkollai village in Chengalpattu district, Tamil Nadu, 30/10/2021
Joint Committee report in respect of Original Application No. 5 of 2021 taken up as Suo Motu on the basis of the news item published in the Indian Express newspaper edition, December 20, 2020 'Shrimp hatcheries along ECR have no CRZ clearance' by the NGT (SZ) and Original Application No. 9 of 2021 filed by S. Velu in respect of construction of shrimp farms in Keelarkollai village in Chengalpattu district.
All the shrimp hatcheries mentioned in the news item in the Indian Express are located within 2 km of high tide line (HTL). All these hatcheries fall under the jurisdiction of Coastal Aquaculture Authority (CAA).
The news item had said that hatcheries are discharging untreated effluents which contain pharmaceutical wastes that were used as medicine to treat infection in the cultured animals.
The committee found that no antibiotics or any other medicines are used to treat the infection of the cultured animals. All the shrimp hatcheries are operating without Consent to Establish and also Consent to Operate from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. According to CAA, as per the Coastal Aquaculture Authority Act, 2005 construction of hatcheries and its commissioning require prior permission of the CAA.