Residents of Worli Koliwada visited the site of the coastal road project on Saturday and alleged that reclamation work was under way despite the Bombay High Court issuing an interim stay on the project on April 11.
The High Court had restrained the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) from carrying out further land reclamation for the project till April 23 after a group of residents, comprising fisherfolk and biodiversity experts, filed a Public Interest Litigation challenging the ongoing work in Worli.
‘Irreversible damage’
The petitioners said that the court granted a stay on the project as it will irreversibly damage the coastal ecosystem, morphology and biodiversity, and deprive the local fishing community of livelihood and affect their traditional ecological practices. They claimed that no adequate environmental impact assessment was carried out for the project. Nitesh Patil, an aggrieved fisherman, said, “Despite court orders, the movement of 109 dumpers on Thursday night and 69 dumpers on Friday was recorded in Worli. The work is progressing at a fast pace.”
On Saturday, the police personnel posted at the site refused to let in the petitioners and their lawyer Meenaz Kakalia until they produced a written order from the court. Narendar Prashar, liaison manager between the contractors and the BMC, said, “We have not received any orders from the BMC to stop work at the site.”
Reclamation work is under way in the intertidal area, which is rich in biodiversity. The area serves as the main fishing ground for the community where they undertake traditional fishing using nets and boats.
Vijay Shankar, another affected fisherman, said, “This land that they have reclaimed was our main source of livelihood. There is only one more stretch that they are yet to reclaim. My livelihood mainly revolved around the intertidal region and this project will render me unemployed.”
‘Threat to oyster beds’
Ms. Kakalia said that following an earlier court order, the CMFRI (Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute) conducted a two-day rapid survey of the areas along the proposed coastal road and found that reclamation would destroy oyster beds in the area and adversely affect their life cycle.
Ms. Kakalia said, “The court has given time to the BMC to respond to the CMFRI report, while ordering a stay on the reclamation project. Until the marine biodiversity conservation plan is prepared and the CMFRI determines the effects of the project on the livelihood of the fisherfolk, work should be halted.”
Mohan Machiwal, chief engineer of the coastal road project, BMC, refused to comment on the issue.
