Says detailed study needed to reach conclusion; HC seeks BMC reply by April 23 The coastal road project may destroy oyster beds and thereby affect the livelihood of fisherfolk, mainly women, a report by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) submitted to the Bombay High Court on Tuesday said. It also called for a detailed study to assess the impact of the project. The High Court has asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to respond to the report by April 23. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice N.M. Jamdar was hearing two petitions filed by the Worli Koliwada Nakhawa Fisheries Cooperative Society Limited and Worli Machhimar Sarvoday Cooperative Society. Both organisations have 965 members — men and women — as well as 190 boats. The complaint The petitioner have said the coastal road will block their direct access to the sea and coastal commons due to reclamation and result in a loss of coastal resource, habitats and fish-breeding areas. The BMC is constructing an eight-lane, 9.98-km-long coastal road, which will connect Marine Drive and Kandivali. A committee of officials from the office of the Commissioner of Fisheries, the BMC and CMFRI had decided to carry out a survey to ascertain the fishing activity in the area where the road would come up. Senior counsel Gayatri Singh and advocate Meenaz Kakalia, appearing for the petitioners, submitted the CMFRI report titled, ‘Rapid survey of the demography and the fishery along the proposed coastal road project area.’ What the study says A rapid fisheries activity baseline survey was undertaken on two days, and the report says, “The proposed area is an oyster bed and oyster being a sedentary organism, breeds in intertidal rocky area and its larvae need suitable substrate/rocks for the attachment. Present reclamation will adversely affect their lifestyle and destroy the oyster beds in the area. Due to this, the livelihood of local hand pickers, mainly fisherwomen, may get affected. At present, the extent of the oyster bed is not known and the [impact on fisherfolk] needs to be assessed.” It ends by saying, “For arriving at any conclusion, a detailed study is needed considering the biological oceanographic features of the area.” Senior counsel Anil Sakhare, appearing for the BMC, reiterated that the reclamation and construction work of the project would not have any adverse effect on fisherfolk.