New Delhi: The union government found itself on the back foot with questions being raised about the several projects proposed on the Great Nicobar Island, the southernmost island in the Andaman and Nicobar Island complex, both in Parliament and outside.
As per reports, the union government claimed that it would protect the interests of tribal communities affected by the projects envisaged on the Island in response to questions posed in Parliament earlier this week.
The union environment minister claimed that several mitigation as well as compensatory measures were in place, as per the environmental clearance afforded for the projects. The Indian Express on July 29 also reported that land earmarked for a port on the Island has now miraculously changed categories – from being located in a strict no-construction area, to now being located in a zone where ports are permitted to be built.
This is completely contrary to an initial submission by the Andaman and Nicobar Coastal Management Authority saying that the port is proposed in a no-construction zone.
Several infrastructure projects have been proposed in the Great Nicobar Island, including an international transshipment terminal and port, a greenfield airport, a power plant as well as a township.
Numerous experts have raised concerns about how these projects will affect the indigenous Shompen and Nicobarese tribes, the biodiversity on the island (including endemic species such as the Nicobar megapode, a ground-nesting bird, and the loss of 9.6 lakh rainforest trees).
‘No response from Centre on request for relocation’: Tribal Council
Despite the union government’s claim that it would protect the interests of tribal communities, the Hindustan Times reported that members of the Tribal Council said they had not yet received a response from the union government on the withdrawal of the NOC as well as the request for relocation.
Local communities had withdrawn their consent – which is mandatory for the implementation of the project, for a lot of the land envisioned for it is part of the tribal reserve – for the project in November 2022.
The union environment minister Bhupender Yadav also said in Parliament that several mitigation as well as compensatory measures were in place, as per the conditions stipulated by the environmental clearance afforded for the projects. Responding to a question by Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi, Yadav said that more than 50 percent of the area proposed for diversion (around 66 sq km) “is reserved for green development where no tree felling is envisaged”.
“It is expected that about 15 percent of the 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,” he said.
Port project land ‘changes category’
As per a notification issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 2011, the Great Nicobar Island is one of the four large-sized islands (above 100 sq km) that come under the Island Protection Zone (IPZ, which is applicable only to the islands of Andaman and Nicobar, and Lakshadweep), which includes the Island Coastal Regulation Zone (ICRZ) and the Integrated Island Management Plans.
As per the ICRZ, the construction of ports (unless already notified) are not permitted on land categorised as ICRZ-IA – which is what the land earmarked for the international transshipment terminal and port on the Great Nicobar Island falls under.
However, on July 29, the Indian Express reported that the land earmarked for a port on the Island has now miraculously changed categories – from being located in a strict no-construction area (ICRZ-IA), to now being located in a zone where ports are permitted to be built (ICRZ-IB).
The IE reported that the high-powered committee (HPC) appointed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) which had to re-examine the environmental clearance given for the Great Nicobar infrastructure project came to this conclusion.
It reported that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO, which is implementing this project) submitted these details in an affidavit to the NGT last week. As per the Express, the HPC’s finding that no part of the project falls in the ICRZ-IA area was based on a “ground-truthing exercise carried out by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM)”.
The Andaman and Nicobar Coastal Management Authority had earlier submitted that the port was proposed at a location where no construction is permitted, as per India’s Island Coastal Regulation Zone notification.
Project needs a “thorough impartial review”
“How can land categorisation change like this,” asked Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on July 28.
These are simply games being played at the behest of the Sutradhar, who is pushing for this environmental and humanitarian disaster that the Great Nicobar Mega Infra Project is. Several questions arise –
1. How can land categorisation change like this? Surely, some sanctity must… pic.twitter.com/9sx8WHltGT
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) July 28, 2024
“Surely, some sanctity must be given to the local authority – the Andaman and Nicobar Coastal Management Authority, which knows more of ground-level realities – than to some ‘expert’ body that can be manipulated.”
He also asked what the “new information” available to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO) and to the National Center for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) were, “that they have managed to overturn everything that was said thus far and change the categorization of the land”.
The ANIIDCO is the proponent of the several proposed projects on the Great Nicobar Island. He also asked when the NSCSM report and that of the High-Powered Committee (HPC) that was submitted to the National Green Tribunal be made public.
“There needs to be a thorough impartial review of this proposed project, including by the Parliamentary committees concerned,” he added.
