Rosy.SequeiraOctober 28, 2026Mumbai: Bombay High Court has set up a task force to determine compensation payable to fisherfolk families affected by construction of Thane Creek Bridge (TCB)-III.Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande on Oct 16 said they expect it to be in tune with state govt’s policy for project-affected fishermen. Also, the exercise is to be completed within six months “as we are of the view that the fishermen community, which definitely is impacted to some extent by construction of TCB-III, cannot be made to wait too long.”The verdict was given in a 2021 petition by a society of fisherfolk from koliwadas such as Vashigaon, Juhugaon, Koparkhairane, Ghansoli and Diva. In Feb 2022, HC directed MSRDC to deposit Rs 10 crore towards ad hoc interim compensation for 937 families. After the MSRDC-appointed Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute’s report did not quantify loss and consequent compensation, HC appointed TISS. TISS proposed Rs 141 crore compensation — Rs 94 crore for direct losses for three years and Rs 47 crore for livelihood security for six years.Amicus curiae senior advocate Sharan Jagtiani said there were no scientific tools deployed to assess actual impact and no baseline data to evaluate fish catch/diversity prior to construction. The judges noted TISS instead relied on income reported by fishermen in a socio-economic survey which was “completely erroneous.” Advocate general Milind Sathe, for MSRDC, said TISS did not bother to collect any information, including the auction register and sales records, from Fisheries Department or NMMC. Defending the TISS report, petitioner’s advocate Zaman Ali said as the Department had no data regarding fisherfolk’s income, TISS reviewed prevailing compensation literature and policy in coastal states, interacted with stakeholders, collected data by physical verification of fish landing sites, drying zones, etc.The judges said TISS “travelled beyond its mandate” for determining compensation and also included livelihood security/support compensation without assessing impact on the livelihood. They were “surprised” TISS recommended Rs 141 crore compensation “disproportionate” to the Rs 500 crore construction cost. They noted that construction of the 18.2-km Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), and even of Coastal Road, involved reclamation and permanent alteration of near-shore fishing access. TCB-III, by contrast, is a 1.83-km pier-supported bridge addition “with no reclamation, no coastline alteration and continued fishing during construction.” They added that TISS “imported MTHL parameters into TCB-III.”They directed that the task force, led by the principal secretary, Fisheries Department, with representatives of CMFRI, TISS, NMMC and MSRDC, may involve any other authority/agency.
