The Andaman and Nicobar administration has been entrusted with protection of interests of tribals who will be impacted by the holistic development of Great Nicobar Island in the Union territory, the Centre informed the Lok Sabha on Monday.
HT reported on April 14, 2023 that the Tribal Council of Little and Great Nicobar had in November 2022, withdrawn the no objection certificate (NOC) given for diversion of land in August that year— roughly half of which is tribal reserve land — for the controversial Great Nicobar Township and other infrastructure projects. In another letter dated August 20, 2022, the Council had also requested the UT administration to facilitate the relocation of the Nicobarese of Great Nicobar Island to their pre-2004 Tsunami villages at the earliest.
Members of the Tribal Council, requesting anonymity, said they are yet to receive a response from the government on the withdrawal of the NOC as well as the request for relocation. “We have not heard yet from the government on our withdrawal of NOC for land acquisition for the Great Nicobar projects,” one of them said. “We cannot part with our ancestral land. We are not aware of any public document either where government has responded to these issues.”
The council said it was not informed that the land being marked for development included areas and villages that the communities lived in prior to the 2004 tsunami.
{{/usCountry}}The council said it was not informed that the land being marked for development included areas and villages that the communities lived in prior to the 2004 tsunami.
{{/usCountry}}On Monday, the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) in a written response in the Lok Sabha said: “Protection of the interests of tribals is inherent in conditions of approval accorded by the Central Government and the UT Administration has been entrusted with such responsibilities as elaborated in the approvals granted.”
The ministry was responding to a question by AIMIM lawmaker Asaduddin Owaisi, who sought to know whether the government is aware that about 10 million trees are to be cut and indigenous tribes displaced in Great Nicobar Island as part of a government project to develop the island for tourism etc. He also asked whether such project is consistent with the country’s domestic and international obligations to protect the environment.
“The approval granted by the Central Government is in consonance with the policies and programme of the Government which includes inter-alia mitigation measures to compensate the impact of development on flora and fauna,” Union minister of state, MoEFCC, Kirti Vardhan Singh said in the response.
The Centre vide letter October 27, 2022 has accorded the In-principle/Stage-1 approval for diversion of 130.75 sq km forest land for sustainable development in Great Nicobar Island, the minister said.
“The project is of significant strategic and national importance. The estimated number of trees to be affected is 9.64 lakhs (964,000). However, more than 50% i.e. 65.99 Sq. km of the area proposed for diversion is reserved for green development where no tree felling is envisaged. It is expected that about 15% of development area would continue to remain as green and open spaces and therefore the number of trees likely to be affected is going to be less than 9.64 lakhs,” Singh added.
A tribal council is a local elected unit, and its approval for land diversion is crucial for forest clearance. The council is elected by captains of each village who in turn are elected by village/hamlet residents.