The coastline of India plays a signific
ant role in Nation’s economy by virtue of its resources.
Many economic sectors and major urban areas are located within the coastal zone hence, the demand from the
coastal resources are high. In India, nine states and four Union Territories (UTs) are fal
ling under coastal
areas of India. The progress of socio
-
economic development among the coastal major states and UTs are not
uniform in terms of per capita income, poverty, infrastructure and socio
-
economic development. The above
disparities can be attri
buted to three different types of factors they are; natural differences, socio
-
cultural
conditions and policy decisions. Coastal social institutions can have a decisive impact on economic
performance of the coastal areas. The law is particularly importan
t in shaping the institutional framework for
economic activities. Legal rules can be viewed as socio
-
technological devices used to help individuals to solve
the coordination problems and conflicts that arise in an environment of scarce resources. Coastal
Regulation
Zone (CRZ) Notification, issued in 1991 and 2011 under Environment (Protection) Act., 1986 is the most
significant and specialized legislation regulating developmental activities along the coastal areas of India for
sustainable development. Re
search on the relationship between social change and law, the roots of which go
back to the theories of Durkheim and Weber, belongs to one of the oldest traditions of sociology of law. In the
present study, coastal related litigations in India and its lin
kages with the various socio
-
economic factors of the
coastal states and UTs have been studied. In total, one hundred and twenty two litigations have been filed in
various high courts of India during between 1950 and 2010 which are falling under 9 mainland
coastal states of
India. The Union Territories (UTs) of India does not have any litigation in its high court. The numbers of
litigations in the states to the various socio
-
economic factors mentioned above are positively correlated. The
above result is
supporting the social functional theory of Durkheim.