Aerial view of Hanuman Koliwada where the JNPT project affected people were shifted in Uran, Raigad.
| Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini
Residents of Sheva Koliwada in Uran taluk of Maharashtra’s Raigad district, who have been living in a transit camp for 40 years, have received a verbal nod from a senior official of the Union government that they would be provided permanent homes soon. In 2024, the villagers boycotted the Lok Sabha and more recent Maharashtra Assembly elections.
Following The Hindu’s report, ‘40 years in a transit camp’ (November 17, 2024), Santosh Kumar Rai, the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) general observer for the Uran Vidhan Sabha constituency met the villagers ahead of the Assembly election and urged them to cast their vote since elections take place once in five years. Mr. Rai told the residents that he would submit their concerns to the ECI when he returned to New Delhi. Bharat Waghmare, Deputy Collector (Rehabilitation), Raigad district had also urged the villagers to vote, promising to do his best to end to their problems.
On December 19, Ramesh Bhaskar Koli, 65, a resident and fisherman, and general secretary of the Maharashtra Small-Scale Traditional Fish Workers Union; Nandakumar Pawar, president of the union; Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) General Manager and Secretary Manisha Jadhav; and Mr. Waghmare met the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, R. Lakshmanan, at Transport Bhawan in New Delhi. The Deputy Police Commissioner of Raigad district was to attend the meeting but there was no representation from their side.
At the meeting, the Joint Secretary verbally approved the proposal submitted by Mr. Waghmare to begin construction for the rehabilitation of 256 families on 10 hectares of land located in Jaskhargaon and Fundegaon in Uran taluk.
“The Central authorities have given verbal assurance to begin the rehabilitation work, including the construction of the houses, along with civic amenities. They have said it would take at least three years. We have come to a settlement so that at least let the work begin; we will push for the remaining seven hectares later. According to the government gazette of the Raigad Collector’s office, 17.28 hectares of land was to be given for the rehabilitation, including 7.14 hectares for housing plots, and 10.14 hectares for civic amenities,” Mr. Koli said.
Earlier, an association of displaced women of Sheva Koliwada had said they would stage a protest on December 21 by blocking the JNPA’s navigation. Following the meeting in New Delhi, the agitation stands postponed to January 22, 2025.
“This is only verbal assurance by Mr. Lakshmanan. When we enquired about the deadline of the project and when the work will start, he refused to give a concrete response and said he needed some time to clear up relevant documentation in the matter. We strongly feel that this may be one more attempt on the part of governing agencies to buy time and induce people to call off the proposed protest on December 21,” Mr. Pawar said.
In 1984, when the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) township project was coming up, the people of Sheva gaon were moved to two transit camps, 12 km away, at their current location. The fisherfolk were given Boripakhadi village, also called Hanuman or Sheva Koliwada; the farmers were given the Bokadvira village, also called Navin Sheva. They were promised compensation for the loss of their land, livelihoods, and way of life.
The JNPT was commissioned in 1989, and about 1,172 hectares of land was acquired for it through the City and Industrial Development Corporation, Maharashtra’s town planning agency, between 1983 and 1986. The port handles about half of all cargo that passes through India’s major ports.
Over the years, residents have protested in various ways, from blocking the streets to blocking the passage of large vessels in the ocean.
On September 30, 2024, the JNPT took responsibility for the delay in in writing, and said the affected persons would be rehabilitated soon.
Published – December 22, 2024 05:37 pm IST