MUMBAI, Oct. 27 -- Two fishermen welfare societies have approached the High Court, challenging an order passed by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) in May 2022, declaring as a slum a plot of land that local fishers have used for generations to dry fish. The petitioners-the Danda Koli Masemari Vyavasayik Sahakari Sanstha Maryadit and the Danda Koli Samaj-have also sought directions for the removal of encroachments on the land. The petition states that the primary source of livelihood of the Khar Danda Kolis is fishing and ancillary activities that are crucial for their cultural and economic sustenance. It adds that the state government, through a circular issued in 1983, recognised the need for these ancillary activities such as fish-drying, net-mending and fishing equipment storage, and accordingly, in 2008, the BMC reserved the land for the local fishing community. In 2018, a boundary demarcation exercise was conducted by the City Survey Officer and the assistant commissioner of the fisheries department, who confirmed that the area had been in the possession of the community for generations. However, a map released in the same year failed to mark the fish-drying areas as originally recorded during the boundary demarcation exercise, the petitioners complained. The issue intensified after Khar Danda Koliwada fishers found that the declaration of the land was contrary to the provisions of the Slum Act, as no proper demarcation was carried out. "It has permitted the developer to encroach upon the land which was lawfully in the possession of the petitioners," the petition said, adding that the developer's proposal was accepted without proper verification of the documents. The petitioners stated that the alienation of the reserved plot, which was sanctioned under the Development Plan (DP) of 2018 and reaffirmed in 2022, undermined the long-standing rights and livelihood of the Khar Danda Koliwada fishers. They highlighted that the SRA order sought to de-reserve the fish-drying area for Koli housing without following the provisions and due procedure under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act and the Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR) 2034. Under DCR 1991 and DCPR 2034, it is mandatory to obtain permission from the BMC prior to undertaking any development activity on a reserved plot of land but the SRA proceeded without this, the petitioners alleged. The developer had independently submitted the proposal to the SRA in August 2021, and it was accepted without conducting a joint survey or demarcating the area, they further alleged. "The proposal could not have been submitted without the permission of the slum society. Further, the slum dwellers never passed even any resolution appointing a builder," the petition said, adding that the demarcation had been carried out without issuing any notice to the petitioners, the BMC and the collector, thereby, rendering the entire process arbitrary, unlawful, and unsustainable in law. Bhimsen Pandurang Khopte, a fisherman from Khar Danda, said that they did not know that the developer's proposal included their land too. "We need to save our land, as it is our only source of income," he said. "If this structure comes up in Koliwada, it will set a wrong precedent for all the fishing villages from Bandra to Gorai." Khopte highlighted that over 1,300 families depended on the land parcel for their livelihood, which they would lose if the SRA was allowed to proceed. "My family runs a fish shop in Bandra, which is our only income," he said. "If we lose the land, we will lose our business. Where will we dry our fish? How will we survive?" When contacted, SRA officials claimed that the land was not reserved. They, however, said that the slum rehabilitation project did not include the fish-drying ground. "We had a meeting with the community recently to address their concerns, and it was concluded that the land is an open area, not reserved for them," said an SRA official. "The project includes some huts on the site, but no designated fish-drying yard has been encroached. We have no plans of disturbing any fish-drying activity. Let the court decide the fate of the project now."...