Non-islanders should not being allowed to enter Great Nicobar by the native administration, in keeping with residents of Campbell Bay in Great Nicobar, conservationists and environmental activists from different components of the nation who’ve been following current developments within the island.

The restriction on non-islanders has been imposed to curb criticism towards the ₹72,000 crore mission of the federal government assume tank Niti Aayog referred to as the Holistic Development of Great Nicobar Island, they alleged. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration is worried about outsiders influencing the views of indigenous folks residing there in regards to the mission, they stated.

Also Read: Take a holistic view of the Nicobar project

“Non-islanders are not being allowed into Great Nicobar area, including Campbell Bay. Only those with islander passes, which is proof that they are residents of Campbell Bay, can enter the village or enter Great Nicobar by air or ships,” a member of the elected panchayat (village council) of Great Nicobar stated over the cellphone on situation of anonymity. “Campbell Bay is not a tribal area and entry of non-islanders was permitted here before. Its only being imposed in the past couple of months.”

The native administration, nonetheless, stated entry to Great Nicobar Island is permitted, however go to to tribal space requires go as per rules. Only some pockets of the island are inhabited by tribal folks, entry to which have at all times been restricted, the panchayat member stated.

“There is no official notification on this, but common people who need to visit the island for some work or who are family members of islanders without an islander card are finding it difficult because getting a tribal pass is not easy,” he stated. “We have not been told why the restriction is being imposed, but people are speculating that it is because non-islanders can influence the locals’ opinion on the Great Nicobar development project.”

Environmental teams who’ve been monitoring developments in Great Nicobar are conscious of this unofficial rule.

Also Read: Reconsider the Great Nicobar infra project

“Both chopper and ship tickets are now unavailable to mainlanders and non-islanders (those without an island card),” a dealer based mostly in Campbell Bay stated, declining to be named. “Every visit of a non-islander is not related to the Great Nicobar infrastructure project. Several kinds of visitors come here, like traders, tourists, wildlife photographers, birders, ecologists. The situation is becoming difficult for locals too.”

One can guide a ticket for Great Nicobar solely after getting a tribal space go from the administration, officers on the Directorate of Shipping Services in Chennai stated. Campbell Bay may be reached from Port Blair by helicopter or ship.

Elected members of the village council stated they’ve written to chief secretary Keshav Chandra in regards to the logistical issues with such restrictions.

HT despatched queries to the chief secretary’s workplace on Friday. An assistant commissioner responded by saying: “With respect to the queries raised in your e-mail regarding travel to Nicobar Island, it is to state that travel to Nicobar is permitted. Further, visit to tribal area requires pass as per The Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation.”

The Tribal Council of Little and Great Nicobar had in November 2022 withdrawn the no-objection certificates given for diversion of forest land in August final yr, roughly half of which is tribal reserve land, for the controversial Great Nicobar township and different infrastructure initiatives, HT reported on April 14.

The withdrawal of the permission was after the council stated it was not knowledgeable that the land being marked for growth included areas and villages that communities lived in previous to the 2004 tsunami. The forest clearance to the mission for diversion of 130.75 sq km was granted on October 27 final yr.

“As you are well aware, 84.10 sqkm of this diverted forest is a tribal reserve which is now set to be denotified. We were not made aware of this information, nor were we shown on a map the extent of the Tribal Reserve area that falls within the proposed plan,” the letter by the Tribal Council stated. “We were shocked and distressed to learn that parts of our pre-Tsunami villages of Chingenh (along the south east coast) and Kokeon, Pulo Pacca, Pulo Baha and In-haeng-loi (along the southwest coast which are affiliated to the largest Great Nicobarese village Pulo Bhabhi) also will be denotified and diverted as part of holistic development plan of Great Nicobar.”

“We are aware of the restrictions imposed on outsiders. We are not against the development project but we want to return to our ancestral villages,” a tribal council member stated on Saturday over cellphone, in search of anonymity. “We are hoping to get a response from the government on sparing our ancestral villages.”

To make up for the tribal reserve land that’s being diverted for the proposed mission, the native administration proposed to re-notify 45.23 sq. km of land inside Campbell Bay National Park and Galathea National Park as tribal land. But the tribal communities insist on preserving their unique land.

Great Nicobar has 4 communities: the Great Nicobarese, who dwell alongside the south-eastern and as much as the mid-western coast of the island; the Little Nicobarese, who dwell from the mid-western coast to the northern coast; the assorted Shompen bands, who’re scattered within the interiors of forests and valleys; and migrants and settlers who occupy income settlements alongside the east coast.

The ₹72,000 crore growth mission proposed by Niti Aayog includes constructing a world container transhipment terminal, a world airport with a capability to deal with 4,000 passengers on daily basis, a township and space growth, in addition to a 450 MVA fuel and photo voltaic based-power plant over 16,610 hectares within the island.

On April 3, the National Green Tribunal had constituted a committee headed by the Union surroundings secretary to revisit the environmental clearance to the mission within the ecologically fragile island.

Also Read: NGT panel to review green nod for Greater Nicobar project

The tribunal issued the order after a number of discrepancies had been identified by appellants, Mumbai-based non-profit Conservation Action Trust and ecologist Ashish Kothari, who had appealed towards the surroundings and forest clearance granted to the mission regardless of the extreme affect it will have on rainforests and distinctive biodiversity of the area.

The appellants highlighted a number of deficiencies that must be addressed by the committee and additional work on environmental clearance needs to be halted till the panel’s findings are submitted besides “for the work which may not be of irreversible nature,” the tribunal’s jap bench headed by chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel had stated.

The tribunal’s order might not assist as a result of the committee to overview the clearance shall be headed by the secretary of the identical ministry that granted the permissions, specialists have stated.

The tribunal and the Centre have maintained that the mission location is of strategic significance.

“Even the appellants have not joined issue on these aspects. While the Tribunal’s consideration is confined to material on record, we have also noted (without any comment) media reports that the area is located in China’s ‘string of pearls’ strategy which is sought to be countered by Indian Authorities under India’s ‘Act East’ policy. Indian Ocean has emerged as a key intersection zone of Indian and Chinese strategic interests, ” the 64-page inexperienced tribunal’s order had stated.

The Greater Nicobar Island has tropical moist evergreen forests, hill ranges practically 650m excessive and coastal plains. There are 11 species of mammals, 32 species of birds, seven species of reptiles and 4 species of amphibians which are endemic, together with the Crab-eating Macaque, Nicobar Tree Shrew, Dugong, Nicobar Megapode, Serpent Eagle, salt-water crocodile, marine turtles and Reticulated Python.

The area additionally has coral reefs with diversified thicknesses and variety. In just a few areas, new coral formation has been seen. Along the coastal seashores of Great Nicobar Island, leatherback and Olive Ridley turtles are identified to nest.