<p data-path-to-node="2">A draft land-use proposal by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) to rezone more than 100 hectares of residential and commercial plots into industrial zones has met with fierce resistance from local communities and environmental advocates. The controversial draft notification covers a collective 122.1 hectares across four key villages in the Uran taluka: Funde, Jaskhar, Jasai, and Savarkhar.</p><p data-path-to-node="3">Opponents argue that the sweeping zoning overhaul threatens the region's fragile coastal ecology while triggering severe housing constraints for project-affected communities.</p><h3 data-path-to-node="5"><b data-path-to-node="5" data-index-in-node="0">The Proposed Rezoning Blueprint</b></h3><p data-path-to-node="6">The modifications seek to transition large swaths of municipal land into heavy industrial-use classifications:</p><ul data-path-to-node="7"><li><p data-path-to-node="7,0,0"><b data-path-to-node="7,0,0" data-index-in-node="0">Funde-Jaskhar:</b> 54.24 hectares shifting from Commercial to Industrial-Commercial use.</p></li><li><p data-path-to-node="7,1,0"><b data-path-to-node="7,1,0" data-index-in-node="0">Jasai:</b> 20.94 hectares reallocated from Residential to Industrial use emerging as the central flashpoint of the dispute.</p></li><li><p data-path-to-node="7,2,0"><b data-path-to-node="7,2,0" data-index-in-node="0">Savarkhar:</b> 15.58 hectares converting from Commercial to Industrial use.</p></li><li><p data-path-to-node="7,3,0"><b data-path-to-node="7,3,0" data-index-in-node="0">Jaskhar:</b> 12.16 hectares moving from Commercial to Industrial use.</p></li><li><p data-path-to-node="7,4,0"><b data-path-to-node="7,4,0" data-index-in-node="0">Public Utility Allocation:</b> A minor 2.93 hectares at Funde-Jaskhar re-designated from Residential to public and semi-public use.</p></li></ul><h3 data-path-to-node="9"><b data-path-to-node="9" data-index-in-node="0">Port Authority Outlines Strategic Objectives</b></h3><p data-path-to-node="10">Defending the master plan modifications, JNPA Deputy Chairman Ravish Kumar Singh stated that the proposal targets long-term, coordinated regional planning. Port authorities have highlighted two primary drivers behind the shift:</p><blockquote data-path-to-node="11"><p data-path-to-node="11,0">"The proposal has two objectives: to release encroached and unauthorised land for productive use and support the emerging port-airport ecosystem around Navi Mumbai International Airport. We also want planned, contiguous land use instead of fragmented development."</p></blockquote><p data-path-to-node="12">Port officials also noted that the move would formalize haphazard local developments via the master plan while leaving the core, historical Jasai village perimeter untouched. Additionally, they asserted that adjacent City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) sectors have already been earmarked to handle future urban housing expansions.</p><h3 data-path-to-node="14"><b data-path-to-node="14" data-index-in-node="0">Community Concerns and Environmental Red Flags</b></h3><p data-path-to-node="15">Despite administrative assurances, local groups including the Uran Samajik Sanstha (USS) maintain that the proposal prioritizes corporate logistics expansion over civic welfare. Activists point out that core project-affected villages still lack basic public roads, playgrounds, and essential amenities despite nearly 37 years of contiguous port operations.</p><p data-path-to-node="16">Converting nearly 21 hectares of residential land in Jasai is projected by urban planning critics to trigger severe real estate shortages just as employment opportunities scale up around the new international airport. Furthermore, environmental watchdogs have cautioned that encircling these residential nodes with a continuous belt of warehouses and freight corridors will permanently damage Uran's wetlands, creeks, and vital mangrove ecosystems.</p>