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Scroll.in
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Great Nicobar Project: Tribal communities' concerns being examined, says minister
Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram on Monday said that concerns raised by tribal communities in Great Nicobar about a proposed mega infrastructure project on the island were ' under examination ', PTIreported. Oram was responding to a question from a journalist about whether his ministry had looked into complaints about alleged violations of the Forest Rights Act during the implementation of the Great Nicobar project. 'In Parliament too this question was raised in Rajya Sabha, I had answered it,' he added, according to The Indian Express. The minister was referring to a questioned posed by Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale in March. The Rs 72,000-crore Great Nicobar project involves the construction of a Rs 36,000-crore trans-shipment port in addition to an international airport, a power plant, a township and tourism infrastructure spread over more than 160 square kilometres of land. When asked further about what the ministry aims to verify, Oram said on Monday: 'In a tribal or Schedule area we have to check whether a Gram Sabha was held, what were its decisions and recommendations and whether they were violated. While we look at the conduct of a Gram Sabha, the environmental impact assessment is looked at by another ministry.' In contrast to his statements on Monday, Oram had claimed during a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on March 12 that he was not aware of any objections from the tribal communities of Great Nicobar. Oram had then asserted that the project will not have any negative impact on the environment or the tribal communities there, that no one will be displaced and that only a little more than 7 square km of tribal reserve land will be used for the project. He had also professed ignorance of a video report with the opinions of these two communities put together by anthropologist Vishvajit Pandya as part of an empowered committee constituted in September 2020 by the island administration for assessing the impact of the mega-project. In March, Gokhale had inquired about the action taken by the tribal affairs ministry in response to a letter from the tribal council of Great Nicobar Island, which withdrew its no-objection certificate for the denotification of tribal reserve land linked to the project. The tribal council had withdrawn its NOC in November 2022, opposing the denotification of 84.1 square km of tribal reserve and the diversion of 130.75 square km of forest land. It alleged that the decision had been made without the consent of the island's indigenous communities and that crucial information had been withheld, The Indian Express reported. Oram's statements in the Rajya Sabha were in line with the government's public position on the project but a closer scrutiny of the facts, including his own statements in the recent past, reveals a conflicting picture, Scroll has previously reported.
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Business Standard
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Great Nicobar project: Ministry reviewing tribal concerns, says Jual Oram
Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram on Monday said his ministry is examining objections raised by tribal communities regarding a mega infrastructure project proposed on Great Nicobar Island. The project, titled 'Holistic Development of Great Nicobar', involves building a transshipment port, an international airport, a township and a power plant over more than 160 sq km of land. This includes about 130 sq km of pristine forest, home to the indigenous Nicobarese and Shompen communities, classified as 'Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups' (PVTGs). When asked if the ministry was investigating complaints from tribal communities regarding the project, the minister told reporters, "Yes, it is under examination. I had also answered a question (in this regard) in Parliament. We are currently examining the documents they have submitted. After that, we will decide the course of action." On further questioning about what the ministry seeks to ascertain, Oram said, "First, we need to determine whether the 'gram sabha' (tribal council in this case) was held, what the 'gram sabha' recommended and whether there have been any violations." Interestingly, during a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on March 12, Oram said he was not aware of any objections raised by the tribal communities of Great Nicobar to the project. According to media reports, the Tribal Council of Little and Great Nicobar had withdrawn the no-objection certificate (NOC) it had issued in August 2022 for the denotification of 84.1 sq km of tribal reserve and diversion of 130 sq km of forests, alleging that important information was not revealed while seeking NOC. A tribal council is a local elected body and its approval is important for land diversion and forest clearances, just like the gram sabha's approval. Around 853 sq km of the island's total 910 sq km is designated as a tribal reserve under the Andaman and Nicobar (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956. In tribal reserves, the tribal communities own the land and have full rights to use it for their daily needs. However, transferring, acquiring, or selling land in these areas is strictly prohibited. For the safety and protection of the Shompen tribe, the Andaman and Nicobar Administration introduced the Policy on Shompen Tribe of Great Nicobar Island on May 22, 2015. Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Durgadas Uikey informed the Lok Sabha on December 12 last year that, regarding the Great Nicobar Island project, the Shompen Policy allows development proposals subject to due consultation with the concerned authorities, which has been done". "A&N Administration has informed that the project will not disturb or displace any Shompen PVTG," he added.
Indian Express
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Tribals' concerns on Great Nicobar project under examination: Minister
Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Jual Oram on Monday said that concerns raised by the tribal communities from the Great Nicobar island regarding the Great Nicobar Infrastructure project are 'under examination'. Oram and MoS for Tribal Affairs, Durgadas Uikey, were speaking at Oram's residence while addressing the media on the initiatives and achievements of the ministry in the last 11 years of the NDA government. Oram was asked during the media interaction whether his ministry has examined complaints regarding alleged violations of Forest Rights Act in the archipelago during implementation of the project in Nicobar, Oram said, 'It is under examination'. 'In Parliament too this question was raised in Rajya Sabha, I had answered it. We are examining documents submitted,' Oram said but did not offer more details. 'In a tribal or Schedule area we have to check whether a Gram Sabha was held, what were its decisions and recommendations and whether they were violated. While we look at the conduct of a Gram Sabha, the environmental impact assessment is looked at by another ministry,' he said. The Parliament question Oram was referring to was asked by TMC MP Saket Gokhale in March. Gokhale had sought to know what action the Ministry had taken on a letter of the tribal council of the Great Nicobar Island withdrawing its no-objection certificate (NOC) to the denotification of a tribal reserve for the mega infrastructure project. The tribal council had in November 2022 revoked its no-objection certificate to the denotification of 84.1 sq km of tribal reserve and diversion of 130.75 sq km of forests, alleging that it was done without consent of indigenous inhabitants of the island and by concealing information.
The Hindu
26-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Tribal Affairs Minister highlights achievements in 11 years of NDA government
Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram on Monday (May 26, 2025) launched a booklet on the 'major achievements' of the initiatives of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in the past 11 years of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre (2014-2025), leading with the government's declaration of the 150th birth anniversary of tribal icon Birsa Munda as the 'Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh', and recently launched programmes for the saturation of basic schemes in villages inhabited by Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). At the event to launch the booklet, Mr. Oram responded to questions on the ₹72,000 crore Great Nicobar Island infrastructure project, saying that complaints about the alleged violation of forest rights, and the controversy over the process of procuring the gram sabha's consent for forest diversion was 'under examination'. 'Whatever documents have been submitted are under examination. It cannot be said what stage it is at right now,' Mr. Oram said, responding to questions. It was not immediately clear which aspects were under examination. 'There are multiple aspects on these issues — one is whether gram sabha was held, whether their recommendation was received, and whether process was followed. Another aspect is the Environmental Impact Assessment. Our Ministry's purview deals with just the process of gram sabha, and other aspects are dealt with by other Ministries,' Mr. Oram said. The infrastructure project on the Great Nicobar island has been mired in controversy since it received preliminary clearances in 2022. Soon after the project was said to have secured the consent of local tribespeople, the Tribal Council of Little and Great Nicobar withdrew the consent it was said to have granted. The National Green Tribunal, and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes had subsequently also raised concerns over due process for the consent procedure and the environmental impact of the project. Speaking on the achievements of the Tribal Affairs Ministry in the past 11 years, Mr. Oram said that the booklet was 'thorough' but 'it is important for me to mention this progress'. He added that a lot of the Ministry's initiatives, especially in planning health interventions, were initiated when he became the first Union Tribal Affairs Minister in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and later when he took the position again in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first term. 'This work has been continued through the years by my fellow colleagues as well,' Mr. Oram said. In the booklet on the achievements, the government begins with the declaration of Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh from November 15, 2024 to November 15, 2025, which is being marked with national and State-level events. This was a top promise in the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) manifesto for marginalised sections ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Going through the booklet, the Minister then proceeded to speak on the PM JANMAN programme, which is a basic scheme saturation package that brings housing, healthcare, nutrition, road connectivity, power, and drinking water interventions to 75 PVTG communities across 19 States and Union Territories across the country. The Ministry added that, under the package, 4.35 lakh houses had been sanctioned, of which 1.04 lakh houses had been completed. Electrification of over 1.4 lakh households had been sanctioned, of which electrification of 1.05 lakh had been completed. The Ministry said that other interventions, including setting up the Van Dhan Vikas Kendras, business training sessions, mobile medical units, and multipurpose centres, had also been initiated. Further, '596 villages saturated with interventions', the Ministry said. The Minister also spoke about the Dharti Aba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan, a scheme saturation package designed on the lines of the PM JANMAN package to saturate ST villages with 25 interventions by involving 17 line Ministries. The Ministry also went on to highlight the Eklavya Model Residential School scheme, which has been revamped and centralised in the past half-a-dozen years. The Ministry's booklet also spoke of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act or FRA. It spoke of having 'achieved a remarkable 412.71% increase in the distribution of Community Forest Rights titles, thereby strengthening tribal self-governance'. According to the text of the Act, the burden of implementing the legislation falls on the respective State and Union Territory governments. Apart from this, the booklet outlines other schemes of the Ministry, including scholarships it administers for ST students, the Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana, promotion of tribal-made products through the National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation, a mission for 'Tribal Health Enhancement', support to Tribal Research Institutes, and special attention given to tribal freedom fighter museums.
Hindustan Times
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Great Nicobar project: Jual Oram says his ministry examining objections by tribal communities
New Delhi, Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram on Monday said his ministry is examining objections raised by tribal communities regarding a mega infrastructure project proposed on Great Nicobar Island. The project, titled 'Holistic Development of Great Nicobar', involves building a transshipment port, an international airport, a township and a power plant over more than 160 sq km of land. This includes about 130 sq km of pristine forest, home to the indigenous Nicobarese and Shompen communities, classified as 'Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups' . When asked if the ministry was investigating complaints from tribal communities regarding the project, the minister told reporters, "Yes, it is under examination. I had also answered a question in Parliament. We are currently examining the documents they have submitted. After that, we will decide the course of action." On further questioning about what the ministry seeks to ascertain, Oram said, "First, we need to determine whether the 'gram sabha' was held, what the 'gram sabha' recommended and whether there have been any violations." Interestingly, during a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on March 12, Oram said he was not aware of any objections raised by the tribal communities of Great Nicobar to the project. According to media reports, the Tribal Council of Little and Great Nicobar had withdrawn the no-objection certificate it had issued in August 2022 for the denotification of 84.1 sq km of tribal reserve and diversion of 130 sq km of forests, alleging that important information was not revealed while seeking NOC. A tribal council is a local elected body and its approval is important for land diversion and forest clearances, just like the gram sabha's approval. Around 853 sq km of the island's total 910 sq km is designated as a tribal reserve under the Andaman and Nicobar Regulation, 1956. In tribal reserves, the tribal communities own the land and have full rights to use it for their daily needs. However, transferring, acquiring, or selling land in these areas is strictly prohibited. For the safety and protection of the Shompen tribe, the Andaman and Nicobar Administration introduced the Policy on Shompen Tribe of Great Nicobar Island on May 22, 2015. Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Durgadas Uikey informed the Lok Sabha on December 12 last year that, regarding the Great Nicobar Island project, the Shompen Policy 'allows development proposals subject to due consultation with the concerned authorities, which has been done". "A&N Administration has informed that the project will not disturb or displace any Shompen PVTG," he added.
