The Kolis—Mumbai’s Original Inhabitants

Have you driven on the Coastal Road and felt marvellous? What is a luxury for the urban elite is an erasure for Mumbai’s Kolis (fisherfolk)—the city’s original inhabitants. The Kolis have lived in Mumbai since before the British colonial rule with their history closely linked to the city’s development. Today, their livelihood stands threatened as the Coastal Road Project has significantly reduced fish in the water, and reduced their earnings by 95%.  

Over the years, the Kolis have faced an unstoppable array of developmental projects in the city, including the Bandra-Worli sea link project. Today, sustaining their livelihoods, culture and identity and preserving coastal ecosystems is essential for Mumbai, as planning without people leads to land-driven projects and not people-centric needs. The Coastal Road Project may symbolise urban progress, but it exposes how development in Mumbai continues to privilege the elite while erasing those who built its relationship with the sea.

The Policy Failure

The Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification was passed in 1991 by the Environment and Forest Ministry under the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986 meant to protect the ecological systems and livelihoods of dependent communities. Since the liberalisation in 1991, several rules of this policy have been flouted, favoring environmentally destructive reclamation projects over community rights. 

As per Mumbai’s fish production data (2005-09) from the Department of Fisheries, fish production has been declining at the district level, with urbanisation destroying mangroves. This has greatly affected the livelihood of traditional fishing communities in Mumbai from small-scale fisheries. One of the objectives of the CRZ notifications is livelihood provisions and security to fishing communities. However, having been amended several times, the notifications have been diluted, contrary to the spirit of the law, weakening its provisions. Studies show that Mahim and Thane creeks were once excellent fishing grounds, but today, fishing has significantly reduced and is almost a non-existent livelihood. 

The fisherfolk are economically and socially marginalised, and depend on their daily earnings, due to which they are unable to sustain long time protests against CRZ violations. With encroachment and declining traditional livelihoods, several coastal areas have become too polluted, adversely affecting fisherfolk. 

The Lived Realities of Mumbai’s Kolis

With no formal backing by an organisation or the government, the fisherfolk are solely dependent on the fishing profession—slowly declining by the day due to issues of climate change coupled with developmental projects. The nature of developmental, economic growth and modern urbanisation projects affect the fisherfolk community at a level not immediately visible at the surface level. 

As the colourful boats drove round the sea, a group of six fisherfolk—aged 40—sat to discuss how the Coastal Road Project has significantly affected their livelihood. “The Worli Koliwada is our home, village and city and we have nowhere else to go,” remarked the group.  

The main areas of fishing in Mumbai are Cuffe Parade, Worli and Mahim, and the fisherfolk embark to catch fish as early as 4am in the morning with their work lasting for eight hours. With the Coastal Road now functional, Vansh*, a fisherfolk remarked, “There was a time when we would hire men from Uttar Pradesh (UP) to help us, but we aren’t able to afford labourers today. There aren’t many bright future prospects left in the fishing job, as the peak season for the fisher lasts only for two months, i.e. during September and October.” 

“Climatic changes such as storms and untimely rains have significantly reduced the catch of fish. The water currents have started diverging, as the engineers have placed stones in the water for about 500-700 meters, blocking its water,” the group asserted and elaborated cost of every commodity has risen in the last 10 years except the fish in the market—priced at Rs 500 per kg on average for the last 10 years. 

 The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)—Asia’s richest civic body—reclaimed several patches for the Coastal Road Project, affecting the fish catch even during the peak season. Vinay* claimed, “The BMC has reclaimed 113 hectares of rocky bed areas from Priyadarshini Park till the Worli sea face. The rocky beds are like a home to the fish, which contain mangroves and the big catch resides in this area of the water.”

The Struggle for Compensation

For over three years, the BMC had halted the fisherfolks’ work, rendering them jobless as this project began. The fisherfolk from the Koliwada fought the case in the High Court and even went to the Supreme Court of India by using their own savings. The compensation they received ranges between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 14 lakh for a period of four years. 

“If one looks at all the operational costs and considers the compensation per month for 10 people on one boat, the remaining amount everyone receives in hand is Rs 3,000 only. How do we feed ourselves and survive on Rs 3,000 in today’s day and age? What will we do after two years when the money gets over?” lamented Aniket.

The fisherfolk have only received compensation for two years as of now. 

When asked about demands from government, laughing sarcastically, Mahesh* said “Does the government even listen to us? Why don’t you put forth our demands instead because clearly the government won’t listen to ours and nobody takes us seriously. They started the work on their accord without consulting us. When we went to the BMC office, they questioned us and said ‘Tu kaun hai?’ (“Who are you?”), and removed us from their premises. 

With the relentless privatisation of urban spaces for the elite, the fisherfolk warned that if the authorities keep building structures into the water, the water levels will keep rising. “Mumbai will not survive the toll of these projects if the water isn’t given space to flow freely,” they said. 

The Way Forward

Under the guise of development”, urbanisation and economic growth, policymakers who implement these policies often overlook the livelihood of indigenous communities like the fisherfolk or the Kolis. The city’s progress cannot just be measured by efficiency and speed, but those who truly build and nurture it. 

The failure of state mechanisms like the CRZ notifications signify a lack of institutional will to enforce policy guidelines. As urban agglomerations keep growing, the interests of the stakeholders are essential, especially resource-dependent communities such as the Kolis and the impact of these projects on the livelihoods of communities. The integration of community stakeholders in the policy process through consultations is crucial for coastal justice. 

Policymakers should recognise Koliwadas as cultural-ecological zones under Mumbai’s Development Plan, and acknowledge their role in the city’s identity. Coastal employment schemes that value traditional knowledge, and representation of local communities in planning and consultation is vital. Social equity will only be achieved when Mumbai rethinks its relationship with indigenous communities as their knowledge systems are sustainable and ecology friendly.