In 1970, when the fisherfolk of Sheva village in Maharashtra's Raigad district agreed to rehabilitate for the development of Nava Sheva project, they never expected that they will be stripped of their land, homes and dignity.
For the development of its first phase, 2,933 hectares of land of 12 villages were acquired by CIDCO and given to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA). This was largely private agricultural land and government land. As per residents, the compensation for this land was provided to the farmers. In 1982, JNPA acquired 37 hectares of land of Sheva village, leading to the need of it's displacement. The responsibility of rehabilitation of the village was given to the Collector of Raigadh district.
Residents of Sheva village were promised 371 square metres of land for a family of five, up to 800 square metres for families with members and 180 to 300 square metres for those without land in 1983, as per the Maharashtra Resettlement of Project Displaced Persons Act, 1976. Furthermore, for housing, plots were to be given to each family and cost of the structure constructed on the land would had to be compensated as per the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966.
In June 1984, the commissioner of the Konkan division confirmed the acquisition of 7.21 hectares from Sheva-Koliwada as a part of the second phase of land acquisition, started in 1982. To rehabilitate both the hamlets of the Sheva-Koliwada village, the special land acquisition officer, Uran, purchased 51 hectares of land on 24 May 1985, for Rs 37,42,000 and handed it over to CIDCO on 27 May 1985, with 33.64 hectares demarcated for the people of Sheva hamlet and 17.28 hectares for former residents of Koliwada hamlet.
Plans for resettling the 361 families from Sheva to Bokadvira, 22 km from the old village, and the 256 families from Koliwada to Boripakhadi, 18 km away from their former homes, were prepared by 8 August 1985. However, by April 1986, the collector of Raigad reported a lack of funds from JNPT, leading to partial development of civic amenities. However, the transit camp itself was declared as the new rehabilitated village and a new gazetted village of Hanuman Koliwada was created. Residents claim that even a panchayat and gram sabha was formed, without informing or taking consent of the residents. The panchayat was later dissolved.
Until 2016, no progress had been made on rehabilitation efforts, with JNPT not providing the required funds for the development of rehabilitation site and collector not conducting the required allotment of plots to individual families. Angered by the delay, the residents appealed to Lokayukta and it ordered the JNPT and Raigadh Collector to complete the rehabilitation in four months, including provision of jobs for the displaced family members.
Over the past 40 years, the number of families have also now increased to 400 from the previous 256 families. In November 2022, the residents decided to block the water channel leading to the port in order to bring attention to their rehabilitation woes. After which, the JNPA allotted 17 hectares of promised rehabilitation land but no development has taken on the site. In November 2024, the villagers again blocked the channel leading to a verbal assurance of promised rehabilitation.
As of January 2025, there are still no signs of rehabilitation, but the villagers are waiting for the promised timeline to end by March 2025. The residents, however, are forced to live in the partially developed transit camps.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand for promised compensation
Demand for rehabilitation
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Private
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Project completed
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
No
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Non-agri rural enterprise, Religious/Sacred/Cultural value, Fishing, Commercial, Agricultural land, Residential area
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
No
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
Type of investment:
Year of Estimation
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
Yes
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Delay in allottment and possession of land/property
Non-implementation/violation of LARR Act
Non-rehabilitation of displaced people
Legal Status:
Out of Court
Status of Case In Court
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Yes
Name of the adjudicatory body
Lokayukta
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Case Number
LA/COM/3576/2016
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Displacement
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Reported Details of the Violation:
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Ministry of Ports,Shipping and Waterways
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
No
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
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