HC pulls up Centre, JNPA over 40-yr delay in rehabilitation

Hearing a petition filed by the Maharashtra Small Scale Traditional Fish Workers Union on behalf of project affected persons (PAPs) from Sheva Koliwada, the bench said the case reflected “typical bureaucratic intransigence” with no substantive progress in the matter.

Navi Mumbai: The Bombay high court on April 22 sharply rebuked the union ministry of ports, shipping and waterways, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), and other government agencies over the four-decade wait for the rehabilitation of families displaced by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port project.

88 farmer and 168 non-farmer families have been living in transit accommodation at Hanuman Koliwada since 1986 while awaiting permanent resettlement. (Hindustan Times)

Hearing a petition filed by the Maharashtra Small Scale Traditional Fish Workers Union on behalf of project affected persons (PAPs) from Sheva Koliwada, a division bench of Justices Manish Pitale and Shreeram V. Shirsat said the case reflected “typical bureaucratic intransigence” with no substantive progress in the matter.

The bench said it was not satisfied with the ministry’s affidavit, which cited procedural requirements and inter-ministerial consultations but offered no concrete timeline for completing the rehabilitation process.

The petitioners are among 256 families from Sheva Koliwada displaced by land acquisition for the project in 1983. According to the workers’ union, 88 farmer and 168 non-farmer families have been living in transit accommodation at Hanuman Koliwada since 1986 while awaiting permanent resettlement.

The high court noted that the affected families handed over possession of their lands in 1986 but are still awaiting rehabilitation and remain in a transit camp.

The bench said unless specific timelines were fixed, the petition would remain pending for years, “by which time the present generation of petitioners waiting for rehabilitation will have vanished from the face of this earth”.

The court observation stemmed from a writ petition filed in June 2025, seeking implementation of statutory rehabilitation obligations under the Maharashtra Project Affected Persons Rehabilitation Act, time-bound execution of an approved proposal for allocating 10.16 hectares of land, ₹50 lakh compensation to each family, and urgent upgrading of transit camp facilities.

Union president Nandkumar Pawar had then said families had been “languishing in hope of rehabilitation for over 40 years” and that repeated assurances by authorities had yielded little progress.

Earlier, the finance ministry’s department of expenditure had through an office memorandum, dated November 27, 2025, stated that it did not support the proposal moved by JNPA and sought clarifications. JNPA informed the court through an affidavit that they submitted clarifications on December 22, 2025, and a revised proposal was submitted on January 19, 2026 and forwarded to competent authority on January 28 for reconsideration.

JNPA also informed that it identified approximately 10 hectares of land where tenements could be constructed using additional funds.

The high court, however, said these explanations remained open-ended and lacked commitment. It directed JNPA to immediately ensure basic facilities at the transit camp after petitioners complained that drinking water is available only once every 15 days.

Listing the matter for April 29, the court made it clear that if specific timelines were not presented, it would be constrained to issue direct orders.

Reacting to the order, Pawar said, “We want the court to order immediate transfer of plots to each project affected family. The plots have already been demarcated by the Raigad collector. We also expect JNPA to bear the house construction costs. We hope the court gives us justice after 42 years.”