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Nicobarese tribal leaders ‘not necessary or proper parties’ in Great Nicobar forest rights case: Centre tells Calcutta HC
The dispute concerns the validity of the process through which forest rights were recognised, paving the way for Centre’s ₹81,000-crore Great Nicobar project.
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The Centre has opposed a plea by four Nicobarese tribal representatives to join a case challenging the recognition of forest rights on Great Nicobar Island, telling the Calcutta high court that they are not "necessary or proper parties" and have approached the court after an unexplained delay.
The dispute concerns the validity of the process through which forest rights were recognised in 2022, paving the way for the Centre’s ₹81,000-crore Great Nicobar Island development project.
“The applicants bypassed statutory remedies under FRA (Forest Rights Act) and cannot seek party status after a gross delay (nearly four years from the certificate and two years after the writ petition,” the Ministry of tribal affairs has said in an affidavit seen by HT.
The four applicants -- Barnabas Manju, Titus, Hosie and Hopeful-- belong to the Nicobarese community and had sought to be impleaded as respondents in a public interest litigation filed by former IAS officer Meena Gupta. The petition challenges the constitution of the Sub-Divisional Level Committee (SDLC) under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, the proceedings recorded as Gram Sabha resolutions, and the forest rights recognition certificate issued on August 18, 2022.
The FRA provides for the recognition of individual and community forest rights through a process involving Gram Sabhas and committees at the sub-divisional and district levels. The ongoing case questions whether the statutory process was followed before forest land was diverted for the project.
While Manju is the chairperson of the Tribal Council of Little Nicobar and Great Nicobar, Campbell Bay, Titus is a native of Pulo Bhabi village on the west coast of Great Nicobar and was elected as the first village captain of Pulo Bhabi in 2018. Hosie has served as the second village captain of Pulo Bhabi village since 2018, while Hopeful is a native of Kokeon village in Great Nicobar and sought after within the community for his knowledge of medicinal herbs, plant parts used for repair of traditional huts, hunting and fishing techniques, as well as boating and navigation skills.
Centre's arguments
In its affidavit, the Ministry has argued that the applicants had not raised objections through the statutory mechanisms provided under the law.
“Answering respondent states and humbly submits on the preliminary submissions that the application is barred by delay and laches. No objections were raised through statutory channels under FRA during the relevant period. The applicants’ own annexures substantiate that no formal objections were received from the Tribal Council at the material time.”
“The applicants are not necessary or proper parties,” it adds.
The Centre, in its response, has also maintained that the Nicobarese community’s interests were adequately represented by the official respondents and that the tribal council had representation on the SDLC.
It disputed allegations of procedural irregularities, stating that Gram Sabhas in Campbell Bay, Laxmi Nagar and Govind Nagar were convened on August 12, 2022, and that the forest rights certificate was issued after due process.
What the tribal representatives say
The tribal representatives, however, have alleged that the process did not secure the consent of the Nicobarese community. Their application states that no Gram Sabha of the Nicobarese was convened under the FRA to discuss the diversion of their ancestral forest land.
It also alleges that Manju, chairperson of the Tribal Council of Little and Great Nicobar, was not informed that he was a member of the SDLC until he attended its meeting on August 13, 2022.
Manju subsequently withdrew his no-objection certificate through a letter dated November 22, 2022, claiming that he had not been given adequate information to make an informed decision.
The Calcutta high court has scheduled the next hearing for November 25 and 26.
The dispute has significant implications for the proposed development project, which includes a transhipment port, a greenfield international airport, a township, and power infrastructure across 166 sq km of the island. The Nicobarese community has also sought to return to ancestral villages after being displaced by the 2004 tsunami.
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