"We have been given flats next to our fishing hamlet by the government and soon more societies will be built in the region, and a proposal for building a metro rail in the area is also being given by the government. The only question is, is the government taking into consideration the report given by ISRO?" Bharthi, a fisherman from the Nochi Kuppam fishing hamlet in Chennai questions.

There are close to 2,000 families that live in this hamlet and based on a report - Coastal Zones of India -- by Space Application Centre - ISRO, that was sponsored by the Ministry of Environment and Forest, it is stated that in the next 50 years, the region will be under the sea.

The report predicts that 3209.33 sq km of Tamil Nadu's coast will likely be submerged.

The report predicts that 281.54 sq km of state highway, 85.66 km of railway infrastructure, 497.65 sq km of cropland and 826 sq km of aquifers will be submerged or degraded by tidal actions. The report also predicts that many sensitive regions also fall under these vulnerable areas.

THE REPORT

As per the report, almost all critical industrial infrastructure in the Ennore region, NTECL Vallur, all of TANGEDCO's power plants in Ennore, Kamarajar Port's existing and proposed infrastructure inside the Creek, HPCL and BPCL's oil terminals, the Minjur desalination plant and portions of CPCL's petrochemical refinery in Manali, the entire IT corridor will be affected by the rising sea level.

Most of the newly developed areas in Pallikaranai marshlands will be submerged under advancing sea.

Industries and settlements in low-lying areas such as the proposed 4,000 MW Cheyyur plant and existing nuclear complex in Kalpakkam, the existing IL&FS plant and proposed petroleum refinery and Petrochemical Investment Region in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam, industrial installations and salt pans in Tuticorin and the Koodankulam nuclear reactors are located in vulnerable areas that are prone either to submergence or degradation due to tidal action.

"Climate change and sea level rise are real and present dangers. The CZMP offers an opportunity to plan for the decongestion of the coast. Other countries are doing that. We must start retreating from the sea and improving our natural safeguards against extreme sea-borne events," said Pooja Kumar of Coastal Resource Centre.

BAD NEWS IS IGNORED

Environmentalist Nityanand Jayaraman explaining the situation said, "The government of India and the states has to understand the importance of the report, there is a culture in India where bad news is ignored. Sea level rise cannot go away, but it predicts a near damage and it could be more or less, but it is happening."

"Proper planning should be done to retrieve from the sea, critical structures like power plants, ports are in secured areas and won't be damaged. Lives of people in the coastal areas and measures to ensure the density of the population along the region is controlled. These are the steps that need to be done but why it is not done is the question," he added.

The development plan of the city doesn't seem to be taking into account the nature's intentions but it seems to be driven by "political needs and financial viability".

"If you look at Ennore or Pallikarani will not step in there. You plan a city to stay for 600-700 years and not for five years. People are not taking seriously issues like sea level rising about encroachment and flooding seriously. People seem to be fearless about nature, and the healthy respect for the nature is not there now," added Nityanand.

There are five growth corridors in Chennai and two along the coast - ECR and OMR have fast growth and many multistory buildings have come up leading density of population and two, there are violation of the CRZ regulation particularly the 1996, and 1998 plans of the Tamil Nadu state and though there are amendments made in 2011 there has not been many change, both in terms of the intensity of the development and CRZ violation.

URBAN PLANNING

The last 25 years, many urban plans have been drafted but only two urban plans have status - one is the 1975 plan which was the first master plan, and the 2006 plan which is the second master plan.

But urban planning experts like A Srivatsan insist that, "It is not required that we wait for 20 years before a plan is made, there are enough provisions in the act that you can devise multiple projects in the larger ambit of the townplanning act, and within the masterplan."

"Though the masterplan works in the larger horizon of 20 years, you don't necessarily have to wait for 20 years to produce the plan," Srivatsan added.

All this is at a time when urban planners insist that there is a complete rethinking in the world on how masterplan works, and many countries have started to rethink on how to develop their cities.

"Climate change, sea level issue and impact of it are a world issue, but it is not seriously incorporated and taken into consideration. All the coastal areas in the country will be affected. The Coastal zone management authority is specifically there with a mandate to prepare the coastal zone management plan, why these plans don't reflect the sea level raise is a question and two, we don't have a second plan after the 1998 coastal zone plan for Chennai. If new evidences have come then the government should redefine their plans and the agencies not doing it is of serious concern," added A Srivatsan.

COASTAL REGIONS IN INDIA

All the coastal regions in India will be affected, and the impact of the effect is dependent on the region and also the preparedness of the states and experts reiterate that most states have not taken this warning seriously.

According to "Future Sea Level Rise: Assessment of Loss and Damage in 2015" - prepared for the State Planning Commission predicts that in Chennai alone, 10 lakh people and 144 sq km of land are in danger of submergence due to SLR by 2050.

"Many parts of our hamlets are already facing erosion, and if the report is to be believed, there will be adverse effect on fishermen in the future. What is the government doing to ensure our safety, and why have they not spoken about this impact and started preparedness?" questions Saravanan, an activist and fisherman from the Uroor Olocott fishing hamlet.