Rs 1.8 cr study to assess fisherfolk losses under Coastal Road Project

BMC issues tenders to appoint consultants to finalise compensation, study damage to coastal ecosystem and the fishermen dependent on it

Finally, two years after starting the ambitious Coastal Road project, the BMC has paid attention towards the losses the fishermen would incur. The civic body has issued tenders to appoint consultants for finalising the compensation, study the damage and short list the number of fishermen to be affected by the project, and all this would cost Rs 1.8 crore.

Fishermen at Worli village. File pic/Suresh K K

The Rs 12,000-crore project has been facing strong opposition from various sectors, including the fishing community which claim their livelihood will be lost because of it. The civic body has been compensating shopkeepers and slum dwellers who were in the way of the construction, but never dealt with the fishing community before at this level, said officials.

Also Read: Breach Candy residents call attention to concerns about Coastal Road project

Sources in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) told mid-day that close to 300 fishermen are likely to be affected by the project. However, fishermen said the entire chain, right from fishermen to sellers, should be considered while drafting the compensation, and that the number is way above 600.

Fishermen are also concerned that real compensation won't be figured out in the study as the reclamation work has already been done over the past two years and several used to work in the area.

Evaluate real compensation
"Fishermen do cast net fishing and hook fishing, and owing to the reclamation work that has been already done, a large amount of oyster beds have been destroyed and shell fish has been affected," said Nitesh Patil, a fisherman from Worli Koliwada.

He added, "The fishermen are also worried because no survey was done for the reclamation, which will affect a lot of us who were fishing in that area. Had the survey been done earlier, a correct compensation could have been formulated as the consultants would then have known what kind of fishing was done here and how it has affected us."

Entire chain affected
Patil said, "We want the BMC to consider our livelihood in total and not just go by the figures that the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute has drafted. The entire chain is affected because of the reclamation and the BMC is already late in carrying out the survey. The new consultants should be ready to listen to us and understand our woes as we are suffering huge losses already."

The compensation, which the consultants would formulate, will be an overhead cost that the BMC will have to bear, said sources. The consultants will conduct a survey along the Coastal Road stretch to figure out the number of fishermen to be affected by the project. They have been given 36 months to complete the total assessment.

Civic officials said fishermen at Haji Ali and Worli are likely to be affected, but if there are more, the consultants will have to identify them. "The consultants will survey their authenticity and the areas they were fishing in - at the shore or in deep sea - and the compensation will be decided accordingly," said a senior civic official, requesting anonymity.

The tender notice that has been issued on Tuesday to invite bidders is the first-of-its-kind of work to be done by the BMC. Vijay Nigot, chief engineer of Coastal Road project, said, "We have issued a tender to appoint consultants who will be surveying the livelihood of [every] fishermen to be affected along the project stretch and what kind of compensation should be paid will be formulated on their recommendation."

300
No. of fisher folk BMC believes will be affected

36
No. of months given to complete the assessment

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