Navi Mumbai: The Maharashtra Small-Scale Traditional Fish Workers’ Union, which represents more than 3,000 fishermen across seven koliwadas near the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), have moved the Bombay High Court, alleging offsite construction is destroying marine ecology, blocking navigation channels, and crippling their livelihood.
Offsite infra around NMIA blocking navigational channels, crippling fishing, says plea in HC
The petition, filed on November 19, contends that while the airport received environmental clearance in 2010, mandatory impact assessments for extensive off-site roads and interchanges were never conducted, despite the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority previously flagging the need to study hydraulic flow.
“Our people have fished these waters for generations, but the tidal flow has changed, the creek has narrowed, and our catch has shrunk,” union president Nandkumar Pawar told HIndustan Times. “Earlier, our boats moved freely. But now, the water is shallow and muddy, and navigational channels are blocked due to construction.”
Approaching the high court was the “only way left to protect our livelihood”, Pawar said.
According to the petition, the union wrote to CIDCO and other authorities repeatedly between July and September 2025, seeking compensation for families affected by offsite construction, but received no responses. On October 30, CIDCO formally rejected their claims, denying any ecological damage due to its work, which prompted the union to approach the high court.
The petition says that fisherfolk in the area rely on doll-net fishing, which is dependent on steady tidal movement. Reclamation, river realignment, and road construction connected to the 1,160-hectare airport project have obstructed age-old fishing routes while construction of stilt bridges across tidal lands has filled creeks with debris, increased water turbidity, and severely disrupted fish breeding grounds, leading to a steep decline in catch. Diversion of the Ulwe and Gadhi rivers has also drastically affected silt flow and water quality, the petition says.
The petitioners’ demands include an independent assessment by a credible technical institute, fair compensation for affected families, and a temporary halt on off-site construction till the study is completed.
Acting on the plea, the division bench of justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Sandesh Patil, on November 25, issued notices to CIDCO, NMIA authorities, the state government, state environment department and other coastal bodies. The court ordered the respondents to explain the basis of their rejection of the union’s claims and place on record all environmental clearances and hydrological studies related to the project.
CIDCO did not respond to requests for comment on the issue.