The Bombay High Court on Tuesday came down on the State government and other authorities for not conducting a proper survey on how the proposed 35.6-km coastal road project will affect the livelihood of fishermen, and directed them to have a dialogue with them.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice N.M. Jamdar was hearing a petition filed by fishing communities. The petition said, the project will lead to the loss of direct access to the sea and the coastal commons due to reclamation and loss of coastal resource, habitats and fish-breeding areas.
In the previous hearing, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had filed its affidavit that said fishing activities will not be impacted by the construction of the coastal road; the necessary scientific studies have been conducted before commissioning of the project, and the project will not amount to an ‘Area Development Project’ and hence would not attract the provisions of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006.
The BMC had contended that since fishing activities will not be hampered by the construction of the coastal road, there will no loss of access to the sea or loss of coastal commons due to reclamation, and that fishing beyond the low tide line will not be ‘affected much.’
‘Impractical, unviable’
On Tuesday, the fishermen’s community filed a rejoinder that said, “Traditional fishermen’s livelihood is being affected by the project as they practise in shallow seas, which is environmentally sustainable and economically viable as compared to deep-sea fishing. It is impractical or unviable for the fisherfolk in Worli to shift to fishing between four and 12 nautical miles.”
Flooding risk
The rejoinder also quotes from the EIA report prepared for the project that says, “Reclamation and construction work due to the project will increase the risk of flooding all along the Island City coast.” The BMC lacks the jurisdiction to carry out the project in the areas the Coastal Road passes through, it says.
The court said the State Fisheries Department and Union Ministry of Environment and Forest did not have any information on this. Senior counsel Anil Sakhare told the court a survey had been conducted in Worli to identify livelihoods that would be affected by a portion of the coastal road project, and that a survey along the entire 19-km stretch was yet to be conducted by the State Fisheries Department.
The bench, irked at the lack of coordination between departments, said, “Ideally, the agencies should have conducted such a survey before beginning work on the project.” It said the State should have a uniform policy to assist and rehabilitate any person affected by the coastal road project.
“Development should not come at the cost of the people,” the court said. The court has directed BMC to submit details of the fishing areas and breeding grounds that come under the project and of how many people are likely to be affected.
