Nicobar tribes watch as key road project gathers pace in the region
The Andaman and Nicobar Administration has invited financial bids to conduct a social impact assessment for land proposed to be acquired for an arterial road at Great Nicobar Islands (GNI) under the Great Nicobar Holistic Development Project , according to documents seen by HT.
The so-called trunk road infrastructure will involve acquisition of approximately 90.935 hectares of private land for which a social impact assessment is mandatory. A total of 666.44 hectares is likely to be impacted by the trunk infrastructure, a notification issued by the directorate of social welfare, A&N administration on April 11 stated. The notification is available on the website of directorate of social welfare, A&N.
Also read | Not aware of objections to Great Nicobar project: Govt
The affected revenue villages in the trunk infrastructure project are Campbell Bay, Gandhi Nagar, Jogindher Nager, Govind Nagar , Laxmi Nagar, and Vijay Nagar. The road also traverses through a large stretch of forest area as per the map provided by the administration in the tender document.
'ANIIDCO Ltd Sri Vijaya Puram will be undertaking the work of constructing Trunk infrastructure at Great Nicobar Islands. The proposed land is admeasuring an area of 666.44 ha and the affected area to be covered under SIA study is 90.943 ha,' the notification says adding that the SIA report and social impact management plan should be completed within 6 months of issuance of the notification.
Also read | 7 offshore mining blocks in Nicobar approved, Parl told
ANIIDCO (Andaman & Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation Ltd) has been appointed as project proponent. ANIIDCO has submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report to Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) for obtaining consolidated environmental and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance for the project, the tender document stated.
Anthropologists have cautioned that such a road project needs the consent of tribal communities and forest dwellers such as the Shompen and the Nicobarese who are likely to impacted by it.
'It's important to understand how such a multi-infrastructure project impacts the Nicobarese and the Shompen. We know that the Andaman trunk route had a huge impact on the Jarawas exposing them to several negative sides of tourism and access. Such a trunk route could erode the Shompen culture. If at all, a road can connect the Nicobarese and Shompen villages because they have a symbiotic relationship. It's also very important to have the actual consent of these tribal communities,' said Anstice Justin, a Nicobarese anthropologist based on Port Blair.
Also read | 'The Shompen way of life is set to be eroded,' says Nicobarese anthropologist Anstice Justin
'It's also very important to consider that the Shompen have very vulnerable immune systems compared to us,' he added.
But such communities are not part of the social impact assessment, another expert added.
'The document doesn't mention the tribal villages affected nor even shows cause as to why they are not being included when it is precisely their ancestral and lived lands,' said a senior researcher who specialises on the Southern Nicobarese, who asked not to be named.
The SIA is to be conducted in compliance with the Right to Fair Compensation; Right to Fair Transparency in Land Acquisition, Compensation and Transparency in Rehabilitation and Resettlement Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation Act,2013; and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency In Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation And Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Rules,2018.
ANIIDCO did not respond to HT's queries on whether the assessment will cover particularly vulnerable tribal groups such as the Shompen and how impact on forest land will be impacted.
The Great Nicobar Holistic Development Project has four major components : an International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICCT); an international airport; a power plant; and a township. The total cost is estimated at ₹81,800 crore. The Nicobar Islands fall in the Sundaland Biodiversity Hotspot and cover the western half of the Indonesian archipelago. HT reported on May 12, 2021 that the expert appraisal committee of environment ministry recommended the Great Nicobar township proposal for grant of terms of reference.
Bhupender Yadav, union environment minister said in August last year that 'exemplary mitigation measures' have been incorporated to minimise the environmental impact of the project, 'keeping the strategic, national and defence interests' in mind.
The Tribal Affairs Ministry is not aware of any objections raised by the Tribal Council of Little and Great Nicobar to the Great Nicobar mega infrastructure project, Union Tribal Affairs minister, Jual Oram said in Rajya Sabha in March.
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