The BJP government’s plan to relax Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms to facilitate redevelopment of slums along the city’s coast, and to permit land reclamation for commercial purposes, has come under attack. The fishermen community is strongly opposed to the proposal and has threatened to hit the streets in protest if the government goes ahead with it. On April 24, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had declared that the Centre had agreed to relax conditions for the redevelopment of coastal slums in Mumbai, following his meeting with Nripendra Mishra, principal secretary to the Prime Minister. Fearing that this would mean construction along the city’s coastline picking up pace, the Maharashtra Machhimaar Kruti Samiti (MMKS), a body representing fishermen in Maharashtra, has written to the PMO, Union Environment Minister Anil Dave, and Fadnavis, asking them to not implement any measure without consulting the fishermen community. Rambhau Patil, chairperson, MMKS, said, “The easing of CRZ norms for construction will destroy our coast and its natural resources, including marine fish resources.” Patil added, “The small-scale fishing community is the largest primary stakeholder of coastal zone management activity. We have demanded that there should be no change in the prevalent CRZ norms without holding consultations with the community.” The leader also had a word of caution for the government. “In 2008, the government (the UPA regime) had unilaterally tried to replace the CRZ notification. They were forced to later rescind the measure following countrywide protests by the community,” Patil said. The outfit has also protested reported plans to ease norms permitting land reclamation for commercial activity. The National Fishworkers Forum, an apex body for fishermen, has already raised objections in this regard with the government. In Mumbai, there are over 80 large and 300 small slum pockets on the coast between Cuffe Parade and Dahisar. While the UPA regime had originally relaxed CRZ norms in January 2011 to permit the redevelopment of this land, it had proposed a public private partnership model for this. The condition imposed was that the state would have to compulsorily partner with builders for such redevelopments, and retain a 51 per cent stake in all such projects. The idea was to limit construction of saleable houses to minimise damage to the coastline, while boosting the creation of affordable houses. But contending that the government hadn’t received a single redevelopment proposal under the model in the past six years, Fadnavis had urged the Centre to relax the 51 per cent norm, which was agreed to. While the CM has said that a new model for redevelopment is being worked out, the fishermen community is already fearing the worst. “It seems to us that their plan is to unlock these lands for private redevelopment,” said Dashrath Mangela, chairman, Juhu Moragaon Machhimaar Vividh Karyakari Society. “We have been fighting for over two decades for permission to transform our Koliwada in Juhu into a well-equipped fishermen colony with minimal FSI. But the government has kept denying us the permission, citing CRZ rules. It is shocking then that the same government deems it necessary to ease norms and permit high-rise activity along the coastline,” Mangela said. “The government has already made a mockery of CRZ norms by going soft on violators due to lack of political will. Dilution of norms will compound the situation further,” he added. Mumbai has around 38 Koliwadas, or fishing villages, inhabited by around 50,000 people. Alleging that non-demarcation of Koliwadas on the draft coastal zone management plans (CZMP) was a deliberate measure to obliterate them, the MMKS has demanded that all Koliwadas be urgently mapped and demarcated as CRZ-III, which would pave the way for their makeover into new-age fishing colonies.
