Residents of Sheva Koliwada move Bombay HC over four-decade wait for rehabilitation

Residents of Sheva Koliwada have approached the Bombay High Court against multiple authorities. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Residents of Sheva Koliwada in Uran taluka of Raigad district, Maharashtra, who have spent the past 40 years in a transit camp, have approached the Bombay High Court against multiple authorities — including the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, the Divisional Commissioner of Konkan Division, the Raigad District Collector, and CIDCO — alleging false assurances regarding rehabilitation.

Filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution, the petition seeks judicial directions against JNPA for what the petitioners describe as a gross failure to fulfil statutory obligations under the Maharashtra Project Affected Persons Rehabilitation Act, 1976.

The petitioners — the Maharashtra Small Scale Traditional Fish Workers Union, represented by its president Nandkumar W. Pawar and secretary Ramesh B. Koli — are seeking appropriate orders for permanent and adequate rehabilitation of 256 families displaced due to land acquisition for the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Project (JNPT).

The petition urges time-bound implementation of a rehabilitation plan approved on January 24, which includes the allocation of 10.16 hectares of land, interim relief, compensation for prolonged displacement, and the appointment of a court-monitored committee to oversee the implementation process.

The prolonged struggle has drawn media and administrative attention in recent years. A report titled ‘40 years in a transit camp’ published in The Hindu on November 16, 2024, and a follow-up story on November 20, 2024, highlighted electoral boycotts by the affected community. Following the coverage, officials from the Election Commission of India and the Raigad District Collector visited the area, promising to convey residents’ demands to higher authorities. On December 19, 2024, a senior Union government official gave a verbal assurance that permanent housing would soon be provided.

However, on April 14, more than 400 residents protested outside the tehsildar’s office, displaying a photograph of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and a copy of the Constitution, in a symbolic plea for justice. The protest was held to draw attention to the community’s displacement and the delay in rehabilitation by the State and Central governments.

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The petition, filed through advocate Siddharth Sonaji Ingle, also seeks ₹50 lakh compensation for each family, citing “undue hardship, delay, and mental anguish” caused by the non-implementation of rehabilitation measures despite multiple government assurances over four decades.

The residents have also demanded immediate upgrades to existing transit camp facilities, including provision of safe drinking water, sanitation, drainage, reliable electricity, structural safety, and other essential services for the project-affected families.

Mr. Ramesh Koli, 65, said, “We have had several meetings with all kinds of government officials all these years, from CMs, to Guardian Ministers, to different Union ministers… We staged protests, filed RTIs, took the matter to Lokayukta, we have been made to run from pillar to post… governments changed in this State and country, but we have remained in the same transit camp, waiting for our independence, hoping some day we will get our lost homes, our village that the country took away from us in the name of development and forgot about the people behind the mega project.”

He further stated that affected families were given assurances of employment and local business opportunities during the displacement process. “But till date no one from affected fisherfolk families received any employment or any business to sustain their families,” he said.

“We are aboriginal, indigenous community of this region who have lost everything under the guise of development. Traditional fishing practices have dwindled due to fishing zones being allotted for various projects and heavy industrial pollution. We are left with no future for our young generation despite the fact that several coastal projects are running their business on our traditional fishing land. Is this democracy or dictatorship?” Mr. Koli added.