CRZ clearance in India, who approves it and how to apply
CRZ clearance is prior approval for coastal projects in India. File with your State or UT CZMA on PARIVESH. MoEFCC or SEIAA decides some cases.
How to get CRZ clearance for a coastal project in India
CRZ clearance is prior approval for a permitted or regulated project in India's Coastal Regulation Zone. Most applications start with the State or UT Coastal Zone Management Authority (CZMA), which decides the case or recommends it to the authority that does (para 7).
CRZ means Coastal Regulation Zone.
Which plan applies: the 2011 or 2019 CZMP
A state or UT uses the 2019 provisions only after the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) approves its updated Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP). Until then, appraisal still uses the 2011 provisions and CZMP (para 6). On 18 August 2025, PIB reported that updated CZMPs had been approved for Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala, plus ICRZ plans for Great Nicobar and Little Andaman (PIB). Where the 2011 CZMP still applies, the 2011 zone limits are used for appraisal, so check with your CZMA before commissioning maps.
The 1991, 2011 and 2019 CRZ notifications
The CRZ Notification 1991 was S.O. 114(E) of 19 February 1991. The CRZ Notification 2011, S.O. 19(E) of 6 January 2011, replaced it. The 2019 instrument is G.S.R. 37(E) of 18 January 2019. S.O. 4886(E) of November 2021 and S.O. 5495(E) of 24 November 2022 amended that text (Kerala consolidated text).
Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep are outside the 2019 CRZ notification. They come under the Island Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 2019 (PIB, August 2025).
What counts as the Coastal Regulation Zone
The CRZ covers land from the High Tide Line (HTL) to 500 m landward on the sea front. Along tidal rivers, creeks and backwaters it runs from the HTL to 50 m or the creek width, whichever is less. Where the 2019 CZMP is not yet approved, the 2011 limit of 100 m still applies. It also covers the intertidal area and the water and sea bed from the Low Tide Line (LTL) to 12 nautical miles (para 2).
The HTL is the line on land that the highest water reaches during spring tide. Land between the HTL and the LTL is the intertidal zone. Tidal influence ends at 5 parts per thousand salinity in the driest season (notification definitions).
CRZ zones I to IV under the 2019 notification
| Zone | What it covers |
|---|---|
| CRZ-IA | Ecologically sensitive areas, including mangroves, corals, sand dunes, biologically active mudflats, protected areas and heritage sites |
| CRZ-IB | Intertidal zone between the LTL and the HTL |
| CRZ-II | Developed land in municipal limits or other legally designated urban areas, more than 50% built-up, with roads, drainage, water supply and sewerage |
| CRZ-IIIA | Relatively undisturbed land outside CRZ-II, density over 2,161 per km² (2011 census). NDZ is 50 m from the HTL after 2019 CZMP approval, and 200 m until then |
| CRZ-IIIB | Other CRZ-III land, below that density. NDZ is 200 m from the HTL |
| CRZ-IVA | Water and sea bed from the LTL to 12 nautical miles |
| CRZ-IVB | Water and bed of tidal water bodies, up to the 5 ppt salinity point |
Source: para 2 of the 2019 notification. The NDZ does not apply inside notified port limits. Greater Mumbai is a special-consideration area. Mainland-coast islands and inland backwater islands have a 20 m CRZ from the HTL. Critically Vulnerable Coastal Areas include the Sundarbans and the Gulf of Kutch.
Who grants CRZ clearance under the 2019 rules
| Project situation | Who decides |
|---|---|
| Purely in CRZ-II and/or CRZ-III | State or UT CZMA |
| In CRZ-I or CRZ-IV, or crossing into them | MoEFCC, on the CZMA's recommendation |
| Stand-alone jetties, salt works, slipways, temporary structures, and erosion-control works, in any zone | CZMA |
| Also needs environmental clearance under the EIA Notification 2006 | Composite EC and CRZ clearance: MoEFCC for Category A, the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) for Category B, on the CZMA's recommendation |
| Buildings below the EIA 2006 built-up area threshold | State or UT planning authority, after a CZMA recommendation |
| Self-dwelling unit up to 300 m² built-up area | Local authority alone |
Source: para 7, including the 2022 substitution of para 7(ii). A December 2025 parliamentary reply restates that split for CRZ-I, CRZ-IV, CRZ-II and CRZ-III. It does not list the 2022 exceptions. Atomic-energy, defence, strategic and security projects go to the Central Government, except projects only in CRZ-II or CRZ-III and works on the para 7(ii) list that need only CRZ clearance (note to para 8(ii)(c)).
How to apply for CRZ clearance
File online on PARIVESH, as the MoEFCC office memorandum of 29 November 2022 requires. Para 8(i) asks the CZMA for the following (consolidated text):
- a project summary in the Annexure-V format (the 2011 procedure used Form-1)
- a rapid EIA covering marine and land components, except for building and housing projects
- a full EIA with cumulative studies if the CZMP puts the site on a low or medium eroding stretch
- a risk assessment report and a disaster management plan
- a CRZ map at 1:4,000 from an agency the Centre has authorised, using HTL, LTL and sensitive-area lines from the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM)
- the project layout drawn on that map, with the CRZ category from the approved CZMP
- a CRZ map of the surrounding area, normally a 7 km radius
- Consent to Establish or an NOC from the State Pollution Control Board or UT Pollution Control Committee, if you discharge treated effluent or sewage. Get it before construction starts
Buildings below the EIA threshold also skip the full EIA, the risk assessment and the disaster management plan. Composite cases still use the EIA forms on PARIVESH. A 2019 MoEFCC memorandum named seven mapping agencies, including SAC Ahmedabad, NCESS Thiruvananthapuram, NCSCM Chennai and NIO Goa. Confirm the current list with your CZMA.
Timelines, validity and compliance
The CZMA has 60 days from a complete application to decide or recommend. MoEFCC then has 60 days. If the CZMA is not functioning, for example while it is being reconstituted, the state or UT Department of Environment makes the recommendation (para 8).
The 2011 notification gave clearance 5 years. Under the 2019 rules it lasts 7 years, if construction finishes and operations start in that time. One extension of up to 3 years is available if you apply within the original validity and the CZMA recommends it. Half-yearly compliance reports are due on 1 June and 31 December, and they are made public. CZMAs must also publish their minutes and decisions (para 8(v)-(vii)). State and UT CZMAs enforce the notification, and violations are punishable under the Environment (Protection) Act (PIB, August 2025).
Check MoEFCC and your CZMA for any amendment after November 2022 before you finalise the file. Also confirm which CZMP is approved.
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