"For us it's do or die. If we don't stand up and fight we are dead. If these people want to kick us in the stomach, we have to do something about it."

—Ashok Ambire, Secretary - Peoples Alliance for Implementation of the Law, Thane

Stop Port Construction in Ecologically Fragile Zone / India - Victory

Last February the state government of Maharashtra, India, and the British/Australian multinational P&O announced their agreement to build India's largest industrial port in Dahanu Taluka. Local fishers, farmers, indigenous peoples and environmental organizations were stunned because since 1991 Dahanu has been designated one of India's three "ecologically fragile" regions, where industrial development is strictly limited. Global Response members are urged to write to India's Prime Minister and P&O's chairman, demanding that they respect Indian environmental laws and choose a different site for the port.

Known as the fruit and flower basket of the state, Dahanu Taluka produces a rich variety of tropical crops as well as fish and salt. Two-thirds of the region's people are indigenous Warlis whose sustainable practices have protected the forests that cover 49% of the territory. Full employment and a rich cultural life centered around traditional arts, music and dance, make the area seem a paradise compared to the rest of India's rapidly industrializing west coast. The forests and mangroves of Dahanu Taluka are considered the "lungs" of overcrowded and polluted Bombay -- just three hours away by train.

In 1996, to protect the region from industrial dumping, the Dahanu Taluka Environmental Welfare Association argued and won a case before India's Supreme Court. The Court upheld that there should be no change of land use patterns in Dahanu, that only 500 acres of "green industries" be permitted, that a 25-km buffer zone around Dahanu Taluka be kept free of polluting industries, and further ordered that the economy be concentrated in fishing, agriculture, forestry, horticulture and eco-tourism, and that Warli culture be preserved. The Court also commissioned a study by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute and ordered implementation of its recommendations. The study found that increased coastal activity and increased transportation activity in Dahanu Taluka are not environmentally viable.

Within four months of the Supreme Court Order, the state government and P&O selected Dahanu Taluka for the new port, stating that it will require less dredging than other potential sites, thereby reducing costs. The port is to harbor 29 ships and handle hazardous materials, coal, oil, gas, chemicals and cement. In August, P&O's chief officer in India announced on Australian radio that he is going to support the "denotification" of Dahanu, which would cancel its designation as an ecologically fragile area and nullify the Supreme Court Orders. P&O expects to formalize a contract before the end of the year.

Fourteen local grassroots and environmental organizations have formed the Peoples Alliance for Implementation of the Law (PAIL) to protest the port.

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