Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday directed the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and other government agencies to take into account the interests of the fishing community and locals during the development of the Rs 76,000-worth Vadhavan port in the state’s Palghar district.
During his meeting with the delegation of Vadhavan port development coordination committee, he asked the JNPA, port department and other agencies to hold dialogue with regard to the fishing community’s issues with regard to their loss of fishing business and demands of the locals.
According to the Chief Minister’s Office release, Shinde said that the Vadhavan port development is an ambitious project and assured that since its construction till its completion the interests of the locals and fishing community will be protected. The government will take care to ensure that no one is harmed.
Shinde also assured that the government and the port development agencies will explore positive and viable alternatives during the development. He said that in case of land acquisition for port development, if any, the compensation will be paid as per the stipulated norms.
The CM insisted that the JNPA and port department should communicate with the fishing community members to get their views and address their doubts.
JNPA Chairman Unmesh Wagh said that efforts are being made to ensure that the employment opportunities created by this port are available to the locals.
Thirty programmes of skills training have been identified for employment generation at the port.
Accordingly, it has been planned to implement this training programme for the youth in the talukas of Bandar area of Palghar district.
Vadhavan port is a proposed deep sea port to be built on the coast of the Arabian Sea. Once constructed, it will be one of the deepest sea ports in India.
