Pay Rs 95 cr to 1,630 fishermen families: NGT to Port Trust, CIDCO, ONGC

According to the order, each family is to get Rs 5.84 lakh within three months. In case the amount is not paid within the said period, an interest of 12 per cent per annum will be levied, the order said. The order was passed by Justice V R Kingaonkar and expert member Ajay Deshpande recently.

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The case relates to fishermen who had filed a case in the NGT complaining that with the deepening of the sea for fourth additional berth at port of JNPT, inter-tidal sea water exchanges and flow of the sea water in Nhava creek will be substantially affected.

The project involves extension of 330m terminal, which would cause reclamation of land, including that of creeks and would close entry of the traditional fishermen’s boats in the sea water. Further, they complained that a leaking ONGC pipeline led to their “traditional rights of fishing” being “impaired, diminished and seriously jeopardised”.

The NGT has ordered the three agencies to pay Rs 50 lakh to the Raigad collector as well as bear the restoration cost for environmental damage and to shell out Rs 5 lakh as litigation cost to fishermen.

The NGT also rapped the MoEF and Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) for being ‘far from expectation’ in enforcing rules in this case. “The role of MoEF and MCZMA is far away from the expectations and mandate cast upon them by the Legislations. Both these agencies have not taken proactive steps for enforcing compliance,” the order read.

The tribunal has ordered that MCZMA submit the compliance of directions issued to the agencies in two months.