2 months ago
2
A draught program outlining the “relocation” of Nicobarese tribal communities affected by the Union government’s Great Nicobar Island (GNI) mega-infrastructure task “to their ancestral lands” has present created disorder and is exacerbating existing apprehensions among section communities connected the Island, who have, for 4 years, been protesting the clearance for the ₹92,000-crore task aft withdrawing their consent for it (in 2022), alleging that their wood rights had not been settled.
This draught “Comprehensive Tribal Welfare Plan” was prepared by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands medication and sent to territory officials successful Nicobar for consultations with each enactment departments and the Tribal Council of Great Nicobar connected March 13.
It outlines a ₹42.52 crore connection with a 24-month timeline for the “relocation of Nicobarese tribal communities from tsunami-affected oregon project-impacted areas”, which involves housing, onshore development, annuity/employment programmes, subsistence grants, proscription support, sportfishing rights, resettlement allowances, and assemblage infrastructure similar roads, connectivity, drinking h2o supply, sanitation, education, and healthcare.
Also read: Why has NGT cleared the Nicobar project? | Explained
However, details of wherever the projected relocation volition instrumentality spot and who volition be relocated have near members of the Tribal Council of Great and Little Nicobar confused, according to Nicobarese assemblage leaders who spoke to The Hindu. They said they were handed a transcript of the draught program connected March 28 and person since been called for 2 meetings by the territory medication successful Great Nicobar’s Campbell Bay to purportedly sign off connected it.
This comes arsenic the Union authorities told a Bench of the Calcutta High Court connected March 30 that it needed 15 days to “demonstrate that consent has been taken from the tribal people” for its mega-infrastructure task connected GNI. This Bench is proceeding a batch of matters challenging the project’s clearance connected the grounds that it violated consent procedures and wood rights of the section Nicobarese and Shompen communities. The Tribal Council leaders were called to sermon the draught program archetypal connected March 31 and past connected April 1.
At the April 1 meeting, the Tribal Council submitted a missive to territory officials, pointing retired that immoderate aspects of the draft were unclear, and requested a transcript successful Hindi truthful each members of their assemblage could read, understand, and sermon it. They added that they would request astatine slightest a period with the translated draught earlier they could sermon it further with territory authorities.
Interestingly, this draft plan, which states that the GNI task “involves relocation”, comes aft the Centre has said aggregate times that the task would not “disturb oregon displace tribes”. The task includes a transhipment port, an airport, a powerfulness plant, and a township.
Unclear relocation plans
In a missive attached to the draught proposal, the section medication said the program was prepared aft leaders of the Tribal Council voiced their request to instrumentality to their ancestral villages connected wood lands on the westbound seashore of the GNI—villages that were destroyed by the 2004 tsunami, displacing them to government-constructed encampments successful Rajiv Nagar and New Chingenh adjacent Campbell Bay connected the eastbound coast.
However, successful the draught relocation program itself, a transcript of which was seen by The Hindu, the medication said, “The Great Nicobar Island Project involves relocation of Nicobarese tribal communities from tsunami-affected oregon project-impacted areas to Rajiv Nagar (32 households, 101 persons) and New Chingenh (30 households, 117 persons)”.
Further on, successful a conception titled “proposed relocation”, plans were outlined to designate Pulobhabi for “community purposes” of residents presently successful Rajiv Nagar, with “shared assets” that would “facilitate periodic visits to their ancestral lands”. It added that astatine a aboriginal date, “an enactment shall stay open” for the Rajiv Nagar families to instrumentality to their ancestral villages extracurricular the GNI task area.
In a consequent conception connected residents presently surviving successful New Chingenh, the program recorded the community’s tendency to instrumentality to different ancestral villages of Old Chingenh and Pulo Baha, but noted, “The last determination regarding their relocation volition beryllium taken aft assessing onshore availability”, and assemblage consultations, adding that their existing accommodations volition beryllium upgraded.
Further, successful Section 6, the draught program listed each enumerated families successful some Rajiv Nagar and New Chingenh (62 families successful full truthful far) and then stated: “Proposed relocation site: Pulobhabi, occidental seashore of GNI”.
This comes adjacent arsenic tables successful the draught program amusement fiscal allocations for “upgrading” 62 homes and gathering lone 30 caller homes; portion successful yet different section, the projected program said imperishable shelters “will beryllium constructed for each 62 displaced households of 50 sq.mtrs of plinth area” — neither portion explicitly mentioning wherever these homes would travel up.
District authorities in Nicobar have not yet responded to The Hindu’s queries astir what precisely the draught program proposes.
“It’s not just Pulobhabi”
One person of the Tribal Council said, “Even though we are yet to recognize what they are proposing exactly, 1 happening is clear—Pulobhabi is conscionable 1 of our ancestral colony sites, and the connection lists lone astir 13 pre-tsunami Nicobarese villages erstwhile determination are successful information truthful galore much of them.”
In nationalist remarks successful New Delhi on March 20, the chief of the Tribal Council of Great and Little Nicobar, Barnabas Manju, had said that the community had been demanding the return to each their ancestral villages on the westbound coast ever since they were displaced by the tsunami successful 2004.
Soon aft the GNI task was granted Stage-I clearance successful 2022, the community withdrew their consent, fearing parts of the task would encroach connected their wood lands, including their ancestral villages, preventing them from returning. Over the past 4 years, leaders of the Tribal Council person said this apprehension has lone been exacerbated because the medication has not yet intelligibly explained the boundaries of the task area.
This grievance was raised again by the Tribal Council successful their April 1 letter, successful which they mentioned that the representation for task areas and villages successful the draught “relocation proposal” is “not clear”.
Forest Rights
Further, years aft withdrawing consent, the Nicobarese communities had flagged that the section medication had “falsely” certified that the rights of these communities nether the 2006 Forest Rights Act had been identified and settled, adjacent though the process for this had ne'er been initiated. This was besides reiterated successful the Council’s April 1 letter.
The draught connection specifies that its components for housing, onshore development, employment, allowances, sportfishing rights, and assemblage facilities have been drawn up arsenic per provisions of the 2013 Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency successful Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act and the 1956 Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Act.
But the 27-page papers does not notation thing astir rights nether the Forest Rights Act of 2006.
