Unmapped mudflats are the blind spot of coastal regulation in India. Critically analyse.

Intertidal mudflats are flooded at high tide and exposed at low tide. They are key refuelling grounds for migratory waterbirds. The proposed Mamallan reservoir in Chennai's Kovalam–Nemmeli backwaters is damaging such mudflats, and they are not recorded in the coastal zone management plan (CZMP) [1]. The case largely supports the statement. However, the blind spot is wider than mapping alone.

Why unmapped mudflats are a blind spot

• Protection depends on the map: India's CAF National Action Plan relies on CRZ Notification 2011 to protect coastal wetlands [2]. CRZ rules are applied through CZMP maps, so a habitat left off the map has no rule that forces anyone to check it.
• High ecological stakes: A survey on 29 September 2026 recorded about 3,500 waterbirds of 51 species, 25 of them CMS-protected, including more than 1,500 garganey and more than 700 greater flamingos [1].
• Flyway-level loss: India provides stopover sites to over 90% of Central Asian Flyway (CAF) species [2]. Losing one such site weakens the whole migration route.
• Damage spotted only after work began: A private trust raised the alarm only after dredging and bunding had started [1]. Biodiversity screening relied on volunteers and was not a step required before work began.

Limits of the claim

• Mapping is not the only gap: Better maps would not, by themselves, put EIA checks on biodiversity or the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 into force on state water projects.
• Development needs are real: Chennai needs drinking water, and the WRD was doing its job [1]. The real issue is where and when work happens. Dredging during the August–September migration does the most harm [1].
• Gap between global role and domestic action: India hosts the CAF Coordinating Unit [3]. CMS duties are still not built into state-level project approvals.

Way forward

• Add active mudflats to CZMPs through ground surveys of bird use.
• Make bird surveys mandatory before coastal water projects begin, and time works outside migration windows.
• Bring out a new CAF plan to replace the 2018–2023 plan [2] that binds state agencies.

Overall, unmapped mudflats are the most visible blind spot, but they reflect a deeper habit of treating open mud as wasteland. Accurate mapping combined with flyway-sensitive project approvals would let water security and biodiversity go together. This would honour Article 48A, SDG 14/15 and India's leadership of the CAF.