LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT ON LOGISTICS OPERATIONS IN INDIA: AN ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVE.

The Indian coastal line covers over 7500 km and it supports a wide variety of coastal activities that are attracted to coastal zones and are beneficial for low-cost marine and inland transport systems. Marine transport can generate a lot of natural resources and also contributes major junk for issues of pollution from sewages disposals of oil spills, degrades coastal zone areas which leads to climate changes, rise in sea level, and several other disasters. The coastal zone has a crucial function in the world by contributing to the growth of industries and supporting the economy of the country. Coastal zone areas are sea and land combinations, covered by oceans, beaches, waterways, and Coastal Regulation Zones (CRZs) which were established in 1991 to include backwaters that are affected by tides up to 500 meters from the High Tide Line (HTL) and the area of land between the high and low tide lines. Coastal line zones play a very vital role in the logistics industry for the movement of cargo through seaports, which facilitates the sea routes for ages for shipping trade. At the same time, it is important to guard the environment for the safety and protection of the nation. To monitor the Coastal Regulations Zones, the state government has to implement the Coastal Zone rules which are made by the Union Environment Ministry under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The research is undertaken through an investigation of the relationship between regulations about the coastal zone and the environmental effects of the logistics sector. A critical legal analysis framework is utilized to evaluate the efficacy of current legal mechanisms in mitigating environmental concerns. No doubt India has laws like the Coastal Regulations Management Act of 1972, the Environment Protection Act of 1986, the Water Pollution Act of 1974, the Environmental Impact Assessment of 1992, the Indian Merchant Shipping Act of 1923, and the Coasting Vessels Act of 1838, Paris Climate Agreement of 2015, however, there is no strict law on coastal zone regulations to protect the logistics sector in India. Most importantly, the research will highlight the necessity of implementing comprehensive and flexible approaches that will balance conflicting goals of social justice, environmental preservation, and economic development in the coastal zones. This will allow the logistics industry to progress towards a more sustainable and inclusive trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]