Fishermen, farmers hit the streets after Vadhavan Port project gets nod from Dahanu Authority

Milind Raut, a fisherman and member of the Vadhavan Bandar Yuva Sangharsh Samiti, said, “This agitation is the first of many that will be raised by the bhoomiputras of Dahanu. Authorities need to tread carefully before they continue to push this project against the will of the people.”

Mumbai: Around 800 people – mostly fishermen, farmers and other residents of Dahanu taluka – came out on the streets on Friday to protest a recent ruling of the Dahanu Taluka Environment Protection Authority (DTEPA), paving the way ahead for the Vadhavan Port project.

The protestors staged a march from the Ponda High School ground near Dahanu beach to the district forest department headquarters, raising slogans condemning the DTEPA, the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and the forest department. (HT PHOTO)

The protestors staged a march from the Ponda High School ground near Dahanu beach to the district forest department headquarters, raising slogans condemning the DTEPA, the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and the forest department.

The representatives of Vadhavan Bandar Yuva Sangharsh Samiti, Vadhavan Bandar Virodhi Sangrash Committee, Akhil Maharashtra Fishermen’s Action Committee, Adivasi Ekta Parishad, Lok Prahar Sena, Society for Fast Justice, Samudra Bachao Manch and the Sagar Kanya Manch joined the protest.

Milind Raut, a fisherman and member of the Vadhavan Bandar Yuva Sangharsh Samiti, said, “This agitation is the first of many that will be raised by the bhoomiputras of Dahanu. Authorities need to tread carefully before they continue to push this project against the will of the people.”

After the Vadhavan gram panchayat passed a unanimous resolution seeking to oppose the port and declare the region as a ‘community reserve’ under the Wildlife Protection Act, a delegation of landowners, farmers and fisherfolk from the area met with the district forest officer and range forest officer on July 31.

A formal proposal was sought from the locals, and forest department officials said they would honour their request and place the demand before the MoEFCC’s integrated regional office in Nagpur for further consideration.

The authority, which has been under new chairmanship since May 2022, passed a final order the very same day, i.e. July 31, permitting the JNPA to approach the Union environment ministry for environment clearance (EC) for the port, which will lead to the reclamation of 3,600 acres of land from the Arabian Sea.

In doing so, the quasi-judicial DTEPA reversed its 1998 ruling which deemed the project “wholly impermissible and illegal” on environmental grounds and maintained that this has been done without any legal precedence, and flies in the face of conservation.

A recent zoological survey conducted by the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) has found a wealth of marine biodiversity at Shankodhar shrine, which lies within port limits. This biodiversity, including dolphins and sensitive marine organisms, may be impacted by the construction of the proposed Vadhavan Port. The shrine, which is submerged for most of the year, is a unique site for Hindu pilgrims. There are concerns that the port project, which involves reclaiming land from the Arabian Sea, may permanently submerge the shrine and impact the pilgrimage.