There is concern for the environmental protection of coastal zones throughout the developed and developing world. The major strategy against environmental degradation is the widespread introduction of the Coastal Zone Management (CZM) and Integrated Coastal Managment (ICM) regulatory processes. A great deal of effort is spent introducing, developing and refining the various ICM processes and structures that should reduce the likelihood of man made environmental catastrophe. ICM itself takes a functional view of management. An alternative and broader set of paradigms as presented by Burrell and Morgan (1979) provide a richer illustration of the process. Applying Burrell and Morgan's multi paradigm approach to the analysis of four case studies of environmental degradation on the Tamil Nadu coast in southern India, the regulatory framework is shown not only to be inadequate, but in fact adding complexity and exacerbating the sociological pressures that led to degradation in ways that will not be overcome by recent refinements of the existing process. An attempt has been made to identify the key issues that are crucial to identifying coastal projects that are 'at risk' of environmental degradation in India and a generic conceptual model is proposed. In the light of the results of this research study, a critique of ICM recommendations that have been commissioned by the Indian government's Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has been attempted and these are shown to be inadequate in terms of preventing environmental degratation.