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

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 18 croreFishermen at Worli village File picSuresh K KThe Rs 12000crore 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 officialsAlso ReadBreach Candy residents call attention to concerns about Coastal Road projectSources in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC told midday 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 600Fishermen are also concerned that real compensation wont 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 areaEvaluate real compensationFishermen 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 KoliwadaHe 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 usEntire chain affectedPatil 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 alreadyThe 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 assessmentCivic 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 anonymityThe tender notice that has been issued on Tuesday to invite bidders is the firstofitskind 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 recommendation300No of fisher folk BMC believes will be affected36No of months given to complete the assessmentKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news