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UT admin notifies Great Nicobar Island Development Area
The Andaman and Nicobar Administration has notified the Great Nicobar Island Development Area paving the way for preparation of a master plan for Great Nicobar
New Delhi:The Andaman and Nicobar Administration has notified the Great Nicobar Island Development Area paving the way for preparation of a master plan for Great Nicobar.
In a notification dated December 9, the A&N administration said a proposal for declaration of Great Nicobar Island Development Area comprising seven revenue villages measuring a total area of 44.23 sq.km , out of which an area of 8.88 sq.km is deemed forests, and diverted forest area with the total project area of Master Plan for Great Nicobar Island is 166.10 sq km was referred to the local authorities on January 1 to obtain the views of gram panchayats and the tribal council .
Having considered these views, it has declared the area of the seven villages the Great Nicobar Island Development Area, the notification added.
HT reported on March 8 that two gram (village) panchayats in the area earmarked for the ambitious project in the Great Nicobar Island have consented to the development area notification, but highlighted that amenities and utilities being built should benefit locals and that fair compensation should be provided. The Tribal Council of Little Nicobar and Great Nicobar has, however. objected to the diversion of certain areas currently reserved for tribals.
The Tribal Council of Little and Great Nicobar in a letter dated February 24, seen by HT, has also said that it does not consent to diversion of certain Tribal Reserve areas where their ancestral villages from the pre-Tsunami period are located. “I am again listing the same and placing my view on behalf of the Nicobarese and the Shompen residing in Great Nicobar, that we do not want any construction inside the Tribal Reserve Area, these lands are our ancestral lands and are essential for the survival and wellbeing of future generations,” the letter, signed by Chairman of the Tribal Council, added.
The offices of the Lieutenant Governor Andaman & Nicobar Islands Admiral DK Joshi, the Chief Secretary, and the Andaman and Nicobar Public Works Department did not respond to queries from HT.
The development of a master plan for Great Nicobar is significant because it is part of the Great Nicobar Holistic Development project which 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. This region covers the western half of the Indonesian archipelago, a group of some 17,000 islands stretching 5,000 kilometers, and is dominated by the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.
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.
