BMC admits to prolonged delay in compensating Coastal Road-affected fisherfolk

Mumbai Two-and-a-half-years have passed since the April 2020 deadline for compensating fisherfolk affected by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Coastal Road project

Mumbai Two-and-a-half-years have passed since the April 2020 deadline for compensating fisherfolk affected by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Coastal Road project.

Mumbai, India - Sept. 30, 2022: Aerial view of under construction of Coastal Rd at Worli, in Mumbai, India, on Friday, September 30, 2022. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

However, as of October 2022, not a single project affected person (PAP) has received any compensation from the fisheries department. Details of this delay are contained in an October 25 affidavit submitted by the BMC’s chief engineer (Coastal Roads department) to the Supreme Court, a copy of which was shared with Hindustan Times on Monday.

Moreover, the Fisherfolk Rehabilitation Assessment Committee (FRAC) instated by the BMC to oversee issues relating to PAPs met for the first time on May 25 this year, though it was originally constituted in June 2020, indicating substantial delay in the process to determine compensation for affected fisherfolk. Despite requests, Mantayya Swami, chief engineer behind the project, did not respond to HT’s queries on Monday.

The BMC’s affidavit also reveals that relevant information from two fisher co-operatives in Worli were sought as late as November 2021, in order to provide PAPs with interim compensation. However, the co-ops have not yet shared this information with the BMC, instead maintaining that a one-time compensation does not take care of their inter-generational right to carry out their traditional livelihood.

At the time, fishermen were also locked in a heated conflict with the BMC over the navigation span being provided for their boats under the Coastal Road-Sea Link interchange, which allegedly will cut them off from their customary fishing grounds.

Royal Patil, a fisherman from Worli Koliwada, said, “We refused to provide the BMC with any information because if we accepted the interim compensation, our demands for a redesign of the interchange would not be met.”

It is still unclear when the PAPs will be compensated. Though a compensation policy was to be drafted by November 2019, the task was finally assigned to the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) only in October 2021.

“TISS thereafter has completed its field survey work and will submit its draft report by end of October 2022 and based on the said report, it is planned to have a 2nd FRAC meeting by the first week of November 2022 to discuss/review the draft policy for compensation prepared by TISS. On finalization of the policy for compensation, the same will be disbursed to the fishermen at the earliest,” the BMC’s affidavit, dated October 25, states.

It is also unclear whether the conflict over the navigation span will be resolved any time soon. Though chief minister Eknath Shinde in early October proposed setting up a fresh panel of experts and locals to assess the issue, the BMC in its affidavit has stuck to its guns and said that the proposed design specifications are adequate.

A meeting between the BMC and Worli fisherfolk is scheduled to be held on November 10.

Fisherfolk maintain that the proposed distance of 60 metres between the interchange’s pillars is not enough to allow safe passage for their boats, and will force them to halt their trade from Cleveland Bunder, a centuries-old fishing port. Instead, they have demanded that the distance be increased to at least 160 metres, based on a February report submitted to the BMC by independent coastal geomorphologist Sudhakar Thakurdesai.