Sena opposes Wadhwan port, Nandgaon-Alewadi jetty projects

Says these could damage the environment and bring distress to fishermen

Uncertainty looms large over the development of the Wadhwan port and captive jetty at Nandgaon-Alewadi in Palghar district in Maharashtra as Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s partner in the state government, has launched an agitation citing damage to the environment and loss to the fishing community. Sena president Uddhav Thackeray warned the party would step up the protest if its concerns were not addressed.

Sena leader and former legislator Anant Tare, who is leading the agitation, told Business Standard: “The state government is yet to share full details with regard to Wadhwan port and Nandgaon-Alewadi jetty. In this case, it is not land to land compensation as done during the acquisition of farm land. The fishing community will be rehabilitated in Wada taluka where there is no sea. I have sought the intervention of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis with a plea not to pursue development of these two projects in haste.”

Tare said the public hearing for these projects were held when the proposed sites were in Thane district. They are now part of the new Palghar district, which came into existence in August 2014. “I have demanded a fresh public hearing be done and thereafter the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board could give its go ahead.”

The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and the state-run Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) had in June this year signed a pact to develop the Wadhwan port, entailing an investment of Rs 6,000 crore. JNPT will have an equity share not exceeding 74 per cent in the new port company, while MMB will have 26 per cent. The port company is expected to develop basic port infrastructure while berths, terminals, and associated facilities are being developed on a public-private partnership model. The captive jetty at Nandgaon-Alewadi is proposed to be developed by a private firm engaged in the steel and energy business. The project envisages an investment of Rs 100-150 crore.

According to a state government official associated with the two projects, JNPT has completed the techno-economic feasibility study for the Wadhwan port. The detailed project report will be prepared soon. “'The Wadhwan port will have a container-handling capacity of 10 million standard units. JNPT, situated off Mumbai's eastern seafront in October this year launched the project to increase the overall container handling capacity to 10 million standard units from the present 4.5 million standard units,” he noted.

Sena's opposition comes close on the heels of its conditional support to the ‘smart city’ project by 10 civic bodies in Maharashtra and also its objection to the Rs 90,000-crore Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train. The party has also reiterated its opposition to the 9,900-Mw Jaitapur nuclear power plant.