New Delhi, Aug 7 (PTI) The construction of an arterial road as part of a mega infrastructure project on the Great Nicobar Island will involve the diversion of over 238 hectares of land, including more
than 130 hectares of tribal reserve, the Environment Ministry told Parliament on Thursday.
Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh said the proposed road will pass through 149 hectares of protected forest and 10.6 hectares of deemed forest, along with government revenue and private land.
The total tribal reserve land to be diverted is 130.4 hectares.
Around 853 square km of the island's total 910-square km area 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.
The arterial road project is expected to lead to the felling of over 12,428 trees in its first phase.
The minister said compensatory afforestation and the realisation of Net Present Value (NPV) are part of the conditions for forest diversion.
Additional ecological safeguards such as soil and moisture conservation, catchment area treatment and wildlife management plans will also be implemented, he said.
The mega infrastructure project, titled Holistic Development of Great Nicobar, involves the construction of a transshipment port, an international airport, a township and a power plant over more than 160 sq. km of land.
This includes around 130 sq. km of pristine forest inhabited by the Nicobarese, a Scheduled Tribe (ST), and the Shompens, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), whose population is estimated to be between 200 and 300.
Asked whether free, prior and informed consent of these communities had been obtained as per the Forest Rights Act and the Andaman and Nicobar (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, the minister said that "land is a state subject" and it is the responsibility of the Union Territory to comply with relevant laws before issuing a final diversion order.
"As per the provisions of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023, the state government or Union territory administration, as the case may be, shall issue order for diversion of forest land, only after fulfilment and compliance of the provisions of all other Acts and rules made thereunder, as applicable including ensuring settlement of rights under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest 15 Rights) Act, 2006,” the minister said.
To safeguard the interests of local tribal communities, the environmental clearance mandates the creation of three oversight committees -- one dedicated to the welfare of the Shompen and Nicobarese, and two others to monitor pollution and biodiversity impacts. PTI GVS GVS NSD
NSD
