Bombay HC seeks response from JNPA on objection delaying Sheva Koliwada rehabilitation

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday (January 6, 2026) granted the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) time to take instructions and respond to a pending objection raised by the Union Finance Ministry’s Department of Expenditure, which, the court was told, is still under consideration at the JNPA. The Bench, comprising Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Manjusha Deshpande, accordingly posted the matter for further hearing on January 15.

Appearing for the JNPA, advocate Amit Patil sought time in light of the statement made by D.P. Singh, counsel for respondent no. 2, that “one objection raised by the Department of Expenditure is pending before the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority”. The petitioners, the Maharashtra Small Scale Traditional Fish Workers Union, were represented by advocates Rashid Khan with Siddharth Ingle and Saurav More.

The petition invokes Articles 226 and 227, seeking directions for permanent and adequate rehabilitation of 256 families displaced from Sheva Gaon in Uran taluka of Raigad district when the JNPT township project was initiated in 1984. Since then, the fishing community has lived in transit accommodation at Hanuman or Sheva Koliwada in Boripakhadi amid poor civic conditions, alleging broken assurances and statutory non-compliance under the Maharashtra Project Affected Persons Rehabilitation Act, 1976. 

The case reached the High Court following years of agitation and reporting that documented the community’s prolonged wait. In November 2024, The Hindu reported how residents, citing decades of neglect, boycotted the Assembly election, saying they would not be persuaded without concrete rehabilitation steps. Officials from the Election Commission and the Raigad Collectorate visited the hamlet, but residents alleged political pressure and threats linked to voting.

Subsequently, on December 19, 2024, a verbal assurance was given in New Delhi by a senior official in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, following a meeting attended by community leaders and JNPA officials, to begin construction for the 256 families on roughly 10 hectares identified in Uran. Community leaders later said the assurance did not translate into funding releases or ground-level action.

By June 2025, the residents formally moved the Bombay High Court, seeking a court-monitored committee, interim relief, and time-bound implementation of a plan that they said had been approved earlier in the year, covering about 10.16 hectares. The petition also sought compensation for the prolonged displacement and a clear schedule for housing.

Even symbolic acts to keep attention on the promise, such as a Rakshabandhan bhoomi‑puja and “symbolic possession” of the 10.46 hectares, were followed by renewed complaints that funds for construction remained unreleased, despite approvals in principle. The community’s counsel had described the decades‑long delay as a pattern of “false assurances”.

Throughout 2025, residents continued demonstrations, including protests outside Vidhan Bhavan at the start of the Monsoon Session, where they were moved to Azad Maidan within minutes. Later, a women’s group announced plans to block the JNPA channel to press for action. In September, residents alleged police intimidation even as they cited court directions for timely rehabilitation, allegations the police denied, calling it routine deployment for safety.

With the matter now listed on January 15, the petitioners argue that only a court-driven schedule with accountability across agencies, including the JNPA, State authorities and Central ministries, can break the deadlock and finally move the families from transit accommodation to permanent homes.