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Even arsenic the Calcutta High Court is acceptable to perceive challenges to the Centre’s Great Nicobar Island (GNI) project implicit allegations that the Forest Rights Act was violated portion obtaining locals’ consent for it, the tribal assembly successful Nicobar has present flagged further violations of the instrumentality successful the government’s notification of 3 wildlife sanctuaries successful the Little Nicobar, Menchal, and Meroe islands.
While acknowledging that its ₹92,000-crore improvement task to physique an planetary instrumentality transhipment port, an airport, and a greenfield tourer township connected the Great Nicobar Island would interaction coral colonies, and nesting habitats of the leatherback turtle and the megapode, the Union government, successful October 2022, notified the 3 sanctuaries to conserve these species, successful parts of the Little Nicobar Island, Meroe Island and Menchal Island – each northbound of GNI.
However, since August 2022, the Tribal Council of Little and Great Nicobar has been penning to the Union authorities and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration, flagging that the process to notify these sanctuaries had been initiated without giving announcement to members of their assemblage who person lived connected and maintained these islands for generations.
In a missive to the Assistant Conservator of Forests of the Nicobar Forest Division, the tribal assembly connected April 23 this year, reiterated that the 3 sanctuaries connected Little Nicobar Island, Meroe and Menchal Islands were announced without immoderate consultation with the residents and accepted owners and caretakers of the islands. The assembly noted that of these 3 sites, Meroe and Menchal islands are of “high taste and spiritual significance” to the Nicobarese; they judge the sites are location to the spirits of their ancestors.
The assembly was responding to a announcement for a gathering of the committee constituted to find the eco-sensitive portion astir these 3 sanctuaries – the Leatherback Turtle Sanctuary successful parts of LNI, the Megapode Sanctuary successful each of Menchal Island, and the Coral Sanctuary connected the full Meroe Island. In the letter, the assembly said its president was not consulted earlier the committee was formed – helium was simply informed that helium was portion of the committee, that excessively a period later.
The assembly said the notification for these sanctuaries should beryllium revoked and the committee connected eco-sensitive zones beryllium dissolved, arsenic they were against the wishes of the community.
Jairam Ramesh writes to Minister
Meanwhile, connected Wednesday (May 13, 2026), Congress person and erstwhile Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh wrote to Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, asserting that consent procedures nether the Forest Rights Act were violated successful the lawsuit of the GNI project. The consent was sought done Gram Sabhas, which represented settler families, erstwhile it should person been sought done the Tribal Council of the Nicobarese communities, which are the radical who person a assertion implicit the wood onshore nether the FRA.
He besides questioned however the government-controlled Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti could assistance consent for the task connected behalf of the Shompen, a peculiarly susceptible tribal group. Mr. Ramesh urged Mr. Oram to intervene and person the A&NI medication retreat clearances granted nether the law.
Days ago, Mr. Ramesh had besides written to the Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, flagging that the biology interaction studies for the task astatine GNI were rushed and did not see elaborate studies implicit a fig of seasons arsenic required by the law.
Also Read | Confusion implicit clearances for Great Nicobar task persists
Villages successful the dark
In 2022, adjacent earlier the A&NI medication called Special Gram Sabhas to question consent for diverting wood onshore connected the Great Nicobar Island for the project, the administration, successful April that year, notified its volition to state wildlife sanctuaries for corals, megapode, and leatherback turtles successful the 3 islands. In May, the medication sought objections oregon claims to these lands, and connected July 19, the Nicobar Deputy Commissioner issued an bid certifying that determination were nary objections to the notification and that nary claims to the onshore had been received.
That year, successful August, the Tribal Council of Little and Great Nicobar wrote to the territory administration, noting that the July 19 bid was issued without ensuring that the announcement of the plans for the sanctuaries reached the residents of Little Nicobar Island. The assembly said that nary announcement calling for objections oregon claims to the lands was made successful the villages of Little Nicobar oregon successful Rajiv Nagar successful Great Nicobar, arsenic required by the law.
The assembly explained that the Nicobarese person a accepted content strategy passed connected by their ancestors, “through which we negociate the islands of Meroe and Menchal”. “We person a heavy reverence for these islands since they harbour past spirits of our ancestors. Our customs and practices person ensured the integrity of each beingness connected these islands remains intact,” the assembly said. It added that they were ne'er asked however they had managed to support these wildlife taxon intact connected their beaches and outlying islands, “which we ain and usage arsenic residential and plantation assets”.
Further, the assembly said the beaches of Little Nicobar Island, which person been declared arsenic portion of the Leatherback Turtle sanctuary, are really owned by the villages of Bahua, Muhincoihn, and Kiyang on the occidental seashore of the island, adding that nary of the residents of these villages had been consulted connected these plans.
However, successful October 2022, the 3 sanctuaries were notified by the administration.
Forest rights of tribal radical were not settled for Nicobar project: council
Sustained opposition
Since then, the Tribal Council has been consistently penning to section authorities and the Union authorities astir their absorption to the declaration of the 3 wildlife sanctuaries, arguing that it would encroach upon their pre-existing rights connected these lands, which they person been exercising to clasp ritual hunts, support plantations, worship their ancestors, and conserve wildlife taxon astir them.
In objections to the draught Island Coastal Regulation Zone plans for the 3 wildlife sanctuaries, the assembly has noted that these plans bespeak imaginable eco-tourism activities connected the islands, which “we bash not privation connected our islands”. In these objections from November 2024, the assembly had besides fixed a database of what these islands truly needed, which included provisions for cleanable nationalist toilets, assemblage facilities, jetties, footpaths, ringing wells for water, and cellular towers, among different infrastructure.
In an effort to respond to the concerns raised by the tribal council, the Nicobar administration, successful May 2025, issued a “clarification” noting that the declaration of the 3 sanctuaries would not impact the “hunting rights conferred connected the Scheduled Tribes of the Nicobar Islands”. A period aft this, the Tribal Council had erstwhile again written to the medication reiterating its objection to the sanctuaries.
Livelihood woes
The assembly added, “We bash not usage the coasts and the forests of our islands lone for hunting - we beryllium connected them for harvesting wood produce, wood for huts and canoes, and medicinal plants. There are galore trees, rocks, etc., that are our places of worship and wherever we observe our festivals. In fact, Menchal and Meroe are besides superior coconut assets regions for the confederate Nicobarese. So simply by stating that we are exempt from hunting prohibition is not sufficient.”
Earlier this month, a Bench comprising the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court dismissed the preliminary objections raised by the Union authorities to the petitions alleging usurpation of the Forest Rights Act successful diverting the wood onshore successful GNI for its project. The tribunal has posted the substance for last proceeding successful June this year.
