Parliament Question: Assessment of coastal erosion in Tamil Nadu

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4079 ANSWERED ON 30.03.2026 ASSESSMENT OF COASTAL EROSION IN TAMIL NADU 4079 Dr. M. THAMBIDURAI: Will the Minister of Jal Shakti be pleased to state: (a) whether Government has conducted any recent assessment of coastal erosion in the State of Tamil Nadu; (b) the details of districts identified as highly vulnerable; (c) the funds allocated and released for coastal protection works in the State during the last three years; and (d) the details of long-term mitigation plan to safeguard fishing communities and coastal infrastructure? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY) (a) The study conducted by National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) under Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), for the period 1990–2022 indictes that in the State of Tamil Nadu, 39.23 % of coastline is affected by erosion, 20.18 % is experiencing accretion and 40.59 % is stable. (b) State Government of Tamil Nadu has informed that the coastal districts, namely, Chennai, Chengalpattu, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, and Kanyakumari are highly vulnerable to erosion. (c) & (d) The schemes for coastal protection are planned, formulated and implemented by the concerned State Governments as per their priority. As informed by State Government of Tamil Nadu, the funds allocated and released for coastal protection works during the last three years (2022-23 to 2024-25) are given in Annexure. Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs) have been developed by NCCR for the coast of Tamil Nadu, among others providing a scientific framework for safeguarding coastal areas while addressing challenges such as impacts of hard engineering structures and increasing climate-related risks. Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) is implementing National Coastal Mission Scheme (NCM) for development of coastal ecosystem. *** 1ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (c) & (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4079 TO BE ANSWERED IN RAJYA SABHA ON 30.03.2026 REGARDING “ASSESSMENT OF COASTAL EROSION IN TAMIL NADU”. (Rs. in crore) Sl. Name of Funds Description No. District Allocated Released Construction of curved training walls in Northern and Southern sides of Cooum river mouth and allied 1. Chennai 70.00 70.00 works for the sustainable opening of Cooum river mouth Construction of training walls in the Northern and 2. Tiruvallur Southern sides of Ennore Creek / Inlets south side of 156.00 156.00 M/s Kamarajar port ltd in Tiruvallur District coastal protection works expenditure in Kanyakumari 3. Kanyakumari 69.03 61.12 district. coastal protection works expenditure in Thoothukudi 4. Thoothukudi 8.91 4.95 district. ***** 2