This is a case study of environmental action to preserve and protect Nhava and Sheva from the several threats posed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port, the Bombay Port and the Bombay Mainland / Sewri-Nhava bridge.
Nhava & Sheva
Shyam Chainani
Published by Academic
Foundation
Pages: 258; Price: Rs.695 |
The author of this book, Shyam Chainani, was born in an affluent family, being the son of the former Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, Justice H.K. Chainani. He was educated in the Indian Institute of Technology and later at Cambridge and the Massachussets Institute of Technology. He was a totally dedicated environmentalist who bid goodbye to a great career in favour of the “Green Cause”. He was instrumental in ‘Matheran’ and ‘Mahabaleshwar’ being declared ecologically fragile zones. He compelled the Central Government to frame Heritage laws and played a crucial role in protecting tenancy rights in Mumbai City.
Shyam was diagnosed with cancer and all he could think of was completing yet another book on the “Green Theme”. He declared, “I have only a few months to live and I need to finish my book before I die.” This is his third and last book, which fetched for him an Intach Award. It is a pity that he did not live to see the release of this book.
Located a few miles off the Mumbai coastline these islands are also home to the famed Nhava Sheva port. The battle for Nhava Sheva was the turning point that converted the author into an activist for the environment. It was the campaign against Rashtriya Fertilisers Chemicals who wanted to build a fertiliser plant on the beach and ONGC that aimed at building a materials dump at Nhava that inspired Shyam to fight for preserving and protecting the coastline. It is well known that this fight for Nheva resulted in the CRZ rules being enunciated by Indira Gandhi.
Shyam begins with a bit of interesting history. The Sir Mohamed Yusuf Seamen Welfare Foundation has been managing India’s oldest Nautical Institute (Training Ship Rahaman ) and the Marine Museum in Nhava and Sheva. There were attempts to acquire lands at Nhava for a Regional Park in 1970 and Government planned in 1976 to convert Nhava into a supply base for ONGC. Shyam took up the problem of protecting Nhava and Sheva and his energy, determination, dedication to this cause shine brightly through this volume.
This is a case study of environmental action to preserve and protect Nhava and Sheva from the several threats posed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port, the Bombay Port and the Bombay Mainland / Sewri-Nhava bridge. What a galaxy of actors – Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, T.N. Seshan, A.R. Anutulay, Tinnaikar, Salim Ali, Bittu Sahgal, JRD Tata and so many celebrities.
The chapter on “Nhava” is a stirring historical record of this isle. The Hindu names of Nhava are Devadevi and Nhave. Haji Hasham Yusuf was the founder of the Bombay Steam Navigation Company. His son A.G. Boatwala took over BSN and made it into a limited company and BSN ran a number of services to a number of places in the Konkan Coast.
The family established the Yusuf College in Andheri and a Marine College. Ismail Yusuf obtained Nhava highlands on a 999-year lease from the British Government. The Marine College obtained affiliation from the Bombay University. We have a fascinating account of a 19th century hydraulic lift – an engineering marvel – which could raise a 25,000-ton vessel high and dry!
There were several attempts to take over Nhava by CIDCO and ONGC, who secured 54 hectares. They had planned a road, which would pass through the Nautical Institute’s main campus and cut through the corner of the Museum. The author took up the issue with the “Save Bombay Committee”.
He strongly campaigned developing Nhava & Sheva as green belts or tourism spots. Canvassing support almost single handedly he saved Nhava & Sheva. Shyam has a word of praise for T.N. Seshan. According to him, while he was Environment Secretary he virtually always consistently took a tough uncompromising pro-environment stand which none of his predecessors and hardly any of his successors did.
To put in a nutshell the results of Shyam’s efforts, the Nautical Institute and Marine Museum are not only intact but are flourishing and have been renovated and greatly expanded. Out of the 54 hectares of land with ONGC, 14 hectares were made into a tree nursery. The port has left Nhava alone. The rest of Nhava has been classified as Regional Park in New Bombay’s Master Plan.
