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http://indiatogether.org/articles/mumbais-koliwadas-people
Fishing villages in Mumbai are probably more threatened than those in other
cities, due to the dizzy densification of the country’s commercial capital,
writes Darryl D’Monte.
31 July 2015 -The demand for real estate, particularly near the Mumbai shore,
is extremely high – reaching upwards of Rs. 1 lac/sq ft in some cases.
Builders, in collusion with venal politicians and bureaucrats, will go to
tremendous lengths to secure such precincts, known as koliwadas, after the
coastal Koli community.
Insensitive planners have their fair share of the blame for posing a threat to
these villages. A draft 20-year Development Plan (DP) from 2014-2034 ran
roughshod over these villages, among many other tricky places, and public
pressure saw its outright rejection. A new plan is on the anvil.The proposed Rs
12,000-crore road, which will be reclaimed along the city’s western seashore,
causes grave concern not only to the homes but also to the livelihood of the
fisherfolk.
The Mashal studyA parastatal body, somewhat grandiosely titled the Mumbai
Transformation Support Unit (MTSU), commissioned a Pune-based NGO called
Mashal, which works on urban issues, to study how the reclamation of the past,
from 1970 to 2011, had affected the lives and livelihoods of three
representative koliwadas : Cuffe Parade, Mahim and Juhu, running from south to
north Mumbai.
Mashal pilot study sites at Cuffe Parade Koliwada, Mahim Koliwada and Juhu.
Pic: Maharashtra Machhimar Kruti Samiti (MMKS)
One wonders whether the undisclosed agenda is to lay the ground for the
redevelopment and possible rehabilitation of these villagers, in the wake of
huge infrastructure and real estate projects.
The tone and tenor of the launch by MTSU of the Mashal study was made evident
by the opening remarks of B.C. Khatua, who heads MTSU. “All interventions are
not necessarily against nature,” he opined, areas could be affected but
mitigated by human action. Indeed, he continued, natural areas could be
“enhanced – you can have your cake and eat it too.” This was why Mashal was
asked to map the three areas.
This study on land reclamation in development projects between 1970 and 2011
was launched in June this year, but has still not been made public, possibly
due to the drubbing it got from city activists and fisherfolk representatives –
particularly from the Maharashtra Machimar Kruti Samiti (MMKS), a formidable
force to reckon with.
As in many areas of public life, there is confusion over the most basic of
statistics – the actual number of koliwadas in the city. The Municipal
Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) puts it at 24. The Department of Fisheries
census estimated it was 30, while the MMKS, quite understandably, arrived at
the higher figure of 37.
As Americans say, if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. A detailed
paper on proposals and demands for koliwadas for the abortive DP by Shweta Wagh
and Hussain Indorewala, who teach at the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for
Architecture and Environmental Studies, cites the Census of Marine Fishermen by
the Department to show that there are at least 33 active villages, with some
1,65,000 people dependent on fishing and related activities.
Cuffe Parade koliwadaMashal comes up with surprising statement that reclamation
in the Cuffe Parade koliwada, at the southernmost tip of Mumbai, has actually
been “beneficial for fishing as exposure to the sea has increased”.
Mashal states that the notorious massive reclamation in the 1960-70s, under a
corrupt Congress government led by Chief Minister V.P. Naik, to create Nariman
Point (ironically named after the nationalist leader who opposed such
reclamation early in the 20th century!) and Cuffe Parade, the new central
business district, destroyed mangroves to accomplish this task.
Mashal mentions that fishing was reduced as a consequence, but in 1977-78, the
Revenue and Forest Department offered the community a 4,555-sq-metre plot close
by to compensate for their loss. It records: “Since the current location was
more appropriate for fishing, the community refused to shift to newly offered
site. There was also opposition from local residents for it.”
It is difficult to justify reclamation anywhere for enhancing fish catch.
Anyone who visits the area can see that the Cuffe Parade koliwada is hemmed in
on one side by high-rises, which will considerably cramp the style of the
community.
In the immediate future, Mashal lists three potential threats to this koliwada :
1. The enormously profligate Rs 2,000-crore Shivaji statue, one of the tallest
in the world, to be erected on reclaimed land in Marine Drive Bay, the most
iconic setting of Mumbai.2. Land will also have to be reclaimed for jetties to
enable visitors to reach the statue. As it notes, “The reclamation along with
the buffer zones around the statue island and Raj Bhavan island would narrow
the approach way for the fishing, affecting rock-based fish production.”3.
Currents will also shift, affecting the catch.
In answer to questions during the launch, Mashal stated how urbanisation had
actually increased the sale of fish, but youth were no longer interested in
pursuing such an arduous occupation and sought other pastures. Some residents
said that the reclamation had not affected fishing, but older residents
confirmed it had.
In 1974, environmentalists rallied against the rampant reclamation of Backbay
and submitted an alternative plan by Charles Correa to “freeze” the bay as it
was and encourage leisure activities along its edge. Naik called a halt to the
reclamation, but the blueprint was never implemented.
Mahim koliwadaMashal is equally equivocal about the Mahim koliwada. The new
central business district of Bandra-Kurla was reclaimed from mangroves in 1970,
choking the mouth of the Mithi river which empties out into Mahim bay.
Between 1990 and 2000, housing for project-affected people was constructed on
the reclaimed areas. This was followed by a huge sewage treatment project, an
outfall into the sea. It cost Rs 1,000 crores, with a $192 million loan from
the World Bank. However, without treating the sewage, it merely carried it a
few km into the sea and released it there. (This writer served on the committee
to monitor its environmental impact.)
As indiaenviromental portal noted at the time: “[The project] is facing the
wrath of environmentalists and fisherfolk in the city, who contend that the
project is not environment-friendly…”
The fisherfolk also pointed to the contamination of marine life in Mumbai’s
coasts and creeks. Bhai Bandarkar, president of the MMKS, and an executive
member of the National Fishworkers Forum, said, “The Mumbai Municipal
Corporation is the largest creator of pollution in Mumbai. The sewage in Mumbai
goes untreated into the sea and the creeks around the city, thus poisoning them
and the fish.”
Mashal makes the extraordinary claim that land reclaimed for the sewage project
led to the formation of a fisherfolk-friendly natural beach, through
interference with natural patterns. It says: “Though the land was reclaimed to
constructing the sewage treatment plant, over the years the Koli community was
benefitted due to the beach formation which is used for drying yard, boat
parking.”
In the same breath, it admits that “informal settlement has proliferated too.
Because of these constructions, narrowing of the river, the effects of the 26
July 2005 [mega] flood in this area were immense.”
It doesn’t mention that the reclamation for the Bandra-Worli Sea Link also
constricted the Mithi, which backed up and spilled into the inner recesses of
the city, causing death and destruction.
Juhu-Moragaon koliwadaMashal observes that between 1988 and 2000, within 500
metres off the coast, an area called Mora Sai Baba was bought by a developer in
Juhu-Moragaon koliwada. Slums came up and it was registered as a society for an
official redevelopment under the state’s Slum Redevelopment Authority. By 1993,
a residential building came up there.
Draft coastal regulation threatens fishermenThe alleged sell-out that has left
our fishermen fumingLegalising coastal destructionAs Mashal states, the
fisherfolk lost three-quarters of their income “due to reduction in mangrove
areas, narrowing of creek and water contamination”.In 2005, a pumping station
was constructed to prevent waterlogging by demolishing 165 Koli houses which
had been built to accommodate their growing population.It points out that “no
land was allocated for the koliwada for their fishing activity or housing. With
prime functions developing in the vicinity, the community land is under
developer pressure.”
A far more pointed critique of this koliwada was made by Rajesh Mangela,
secretary of MMKS, who was present at Mashal’s launch. It says that the
previous DP of 1991 recommended the pumping station to help builder Kiran
Hemani of the Future Ready group push back the high tide line – 500 metres from
which no construction is permitted.
In a recent article titled “The long road to progress” Mangela tells the Hindu:
“Everybody wants to stay along the coastal area; why can’t we? It is our right.
Like everyone, we also want clean air and a nice environment. Why should we
move? Does the coast only belong to judges and ministers? You should ask them
how they made their money. We live a life of dignity here.”
The fate of the KolisAt the Mashal study launch, Mangela cited a 2015 study by
the Delhi-based Rajeev Gandhi Institute of Contemporary Studies which found
that the 2005 floods were compounded by the extensive construction carried out
by blocking the course of the river Mithi and three other city rivers.
“Land reclamation has thus affected the natural ecosystem, like mangroves and
fishing activities, and Kolis are one of the most-affected communities by
various phases of such land reclamation that have been going on since the
colonial period in Mumbai.”
Elsewhere, in the coastal area of Versova, MMKS cites how land was denied to
Kolis while buildings have come up on marshes and mangroves for IAS officers
and even an apartment complex for judges, in a blatant violation of the central
Coastal Regulation Zone notification of 1991.
Plot in Versova coast where IAS officers and judges have built on mangroves:
Pic: Maharashtra Machhimar Kruti Samiti (MMKS)
Mangela cautions how the proposed coastal road, which Mashal only mentions in
passing, will reclaim land for real estate or club houses, while reducing the
fish catch since the breeding rounds will decrease drastically. The 170
hectares of open space reclaimed for the road, it fears, may be usurped for
gardens for the elite, like Priyadarshini and Joggers parks in the city. This
will only increase the pressure on koliwadas.
Wagh and Indorewala say, “Urban fishing villages have been under a sustained
threat of redevelopment and renewal, as they are located in one of the most
desired parts of the city – its coast. Fishing villages are not simply housing,
rather they are strikingly self-contained as urban units, with livelihood
opportunities, homes, markets, cultural and social institutions, all integrated
within a compact and walkable district.”
Their take is that redevelopment of these villages to build commercial
complexes, large institutions and housing is unsustainable, exclusionary and
quite mindless as it is these forms of development that are threatening to
eradicate these villages.
Wagh and Indorewala add, “As a crucial part of the city's built and unbuilt
heritage, the DP of the city must make provisions to protect and support its
urban villages.”
Mashal does make recommendations to protect koliwadas as exclusive residential
neighbourhoods with commercial activities like seafood restaurants and calls
for a Fishing Industry Master Plan. However, without making a much sharper
analysis of the existing pressures by vested interests, the study doesn’t add
up to much.
At the launch, Debi Goenka from the Conservation Action Trust, asserted that
reclamation was in fact banned since 1991 and wondered if MTSU had already
decided that it was good for development.
In view of the fact that the MTSU supports the coast road, the question hangs
over the fate of koliwadas, the homes of Mumbai’s original inhabitants.
REFERENCESStudy of Land Reclamation in Mumbai: Phase 1 (1970-2012), S. Gandhi,
D. Mukherjee and S. Srivastava, Department of Geography, Mumbai University,
2014, also commissioned by MTSU.
Darryl D'Monte
31 July 2015Darryl D'Monte, former Resident Editor of The Times of India in
Mumbai, is Chairperson of the Forum of Environmental Journalists of India and
founder President of the International Federation of Environmental Journalists.
