MVA govt stirs another row with BJP; reminds of local opposition to Centre's Vadhavan port

Stirring yet another tussle with the Centre, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday, reminded the Centre about the opposition faced for it Vadhavan Port in Palghar by the local fishing community. On Friday, Thackeray met with a delegation of the Vadhavan Bandar Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti (VBVSS), assuring them of his support if they oppose or support the project, as per reports. The Maharashtra government is already in a tussle with the Centre over the Aarey Metro car shed and the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project.

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Uddhav: 'Fishing community protesting'

"The fishing community at Vadhavan in Dahanu (in neighbouring Palghar) is opposing the central government''s port project. I have heard out the farmers' grievances," he said. Talking about the Aarey metro car shed issue, he added, "The issue on Kanjurmarg land is not about my ego and it shouldn't be about yours too. We are ready to give credit for the project to the Centre if they resolve car shed land issue." 

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What is the Vadhavan port protest?

In February, the Union Cabinet cleared the construction of the Vadhavan Port worth Rs 65,000 crore - to be undertaken by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and the Maharashtra Maritime Board. Recently in December 2-3, the locals of the Vadhavan in Dahanu protested against a biodiversity survey commissioned by the JNPT. As per reports, around 4000 protests formed a human chain on the Vadhavan beach, chanting “Ekach jidduh, Vadhavan Bandar rudduh (Only one demand, cancel Vadhavan Port)”, not allowing the biodiversity study to proceed.

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Locals have maintained that the construction of a port in the 'ecologically fragile area' like Dahanu will disrupt the flora and fauna of the area and hamper the locals' fishing, fish seeding, dye-making and farming. The Vadhavan Gram Panchayat has passed a resolution against the proposed port in 2014, and hence opposed the survey, as per reports. A delegation met with Thackeray in February and later in December to formally register their opposition. The CM has assured the committee that he will engage with all stakeholders before allowing the project to proceed, whenever it is taken up by the state.

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Centre Vs MVA

Currently, the former saffron allies are locked in a legal battle over the land in Kanjurmarg for the tentative Metro card shed - with both parties claiming ownership over it, resulting in the Bombay High Court staying the project. In retaliation, Thackeray has directed officials to explore shifting of Metro car shed from the proposed Kanjurmarg land to other sites which include the land set aside for the Centre's Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train. Thackeray had already ordered shifting the car shed for lines 3, 4, 4A and 6 to Kanjurmarg after declaring 800 acres of Aarey land near Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP)  as a 'forest', reversing the Fadnavis government's decision.