Palghar Administration to Present Draft Vadhvan Port Relief Plan on September 8
The Palghar district administration will hold a stakeholders' meeting on September 8 to present a draft compensation and welfare package for fishermen affected by the Vadhvan Port project.
The meeting, organised alongside representatives from the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), will bring together local residents, fishing community representatives, and other stakeholders to review the proposed relief package, raise grievances, and offer feedback before final approval.
The draft compensation plan follows multiple rounds of talks and preliminary surveys commissioned by JNPA to evaluate how dependent local families are on fishing for their livelihood. JNPA formulated the draft based on survey data and subsequent community consultations after stepping up outreach efforts in the district.
Payouts in the proposal are linked to a State Government Resolution from March 9, 2023, which established compensation rates across four categories (C1 through C4), now adjusted using the Consumer Price Index through 2025. Under the draft terms, fishermen operating within port limits would receive ₹14.15 lakh for one-day Dol Net fishing and ₹15.72 lakh for multi-day Gill Net fishing. For those operating outside port limits, proposed amounts are ₹7.08 lakh and ₹7.86 lakh, respectively.
Traditional and manual gatherers of fish, shellfish, and other marine organisms would be eligible for ₹4.90 lakh, while subsistence fishermen would receive ₹2.45 lakh. A 2x multiplier has been proposed for the more vulnerable C3 and C4 categories.
The package also proposes doubling the fishermen's welfare fund from ₹50 crore to ₹100 crore to back skill development, livelihood enhancement, and local infrastructure. Additionally, a ₹250-crore fishing harbour has been proposed in partnership with the state government to provide berthing, fish-landing, and marketing facilities, alongside a ₹100-crore project to upgrade five government Industrial Training Institutes in Palghar into specialised training centres.
Palghar Collector Dr. Indu Rani Jakhar emphasised that port development must protect local livelihoods, stating that the administration aims to establish a transparent, evidence-based compensation framework centered on community welfare.
