Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram. File | Photo Credit: ANI
The Union Tribal Affairs Ministry will scrutinize the forest clearance documents of the ₹ 72,000 crore infrastructure project in Great Nicobar Island that is being pushed by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, and thus determine the next step, Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram has said. In exclusive interaction with The Hindu last week, he outlined his intention to pay special attention to forest and land rights of tribal communities during the season.
This happened when the Opposition Congress Party demanded the cancellation of the clearance given for the project and a review of the environmental problems identified by experts and constitutional bodies and amid reports of alleged violations of the land rights of the tribes living in the area.
Also read | Congress demanded withdrawal of clearance for Great Nicobar infrastructure project
When talking to The HinduMr. Oram, handling the Tribal Affairs portfolio for the third time, said that among the Constitutional and legal matters that the Ministry has jurisdiction over, he will prioritize the land rights issue faced by the tribal community and can intervene wherever the tribe consents. taken into account – either directly or in coordination with the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST).
When asked about the concerns raised by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and NCST regarding environmental and forest clearance for the Great Nicobar Project, Mr. Oram said, “This is a special case. It will take time to go through the files. But we will look into the issues raised by calling the relevant files and documents and then can proceed to determine the method to be implemented.
This Great Nicobar project includes developing a trans-shipment port, an international airport, urban development, and a 450 MVA solar and gas-fired power plant on the island. The project area is expected to exceed 130 square km. original forest, and has been given environmental clearance – one of the mandatory prerequisites – by a committee of experts.
The government told Parliament in August 2023 that 9.6 lakh trees will be felled and ‘compensatory afforestation’ due to the loss of this unique rainforest ecosystem is planned, but in Haryana State, it is thousands of kilometers away and very different. ecological zone.
A total of 7,114 square km of tribal reserve forest land, where the Shompoen, a Specially Vulnerable Tribal Group, will also be used for this project by the government will not be displaced due to this work.
in violation of the FRA
Meanwhile, the NCST is in the middle of investigating a complaint by retired bureaucrat EAS Sarma, former Tribal Affairs Secretary in the Andhra Pradesh government, alleging violation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) in the process of forest clearance for the project, for which the government has also did not ask the NCST as mandated by the Constitution.
In the large number of rejections of FRA claims by tribal communities and individuals throughout the country, which the Supreme Court has pulled up the Union and state governments, Mr. Oram maintained that these rejections are “case-to-case issues”, depending on the State or UT and must it looks like that. However, he added, “We will ensure that we work for whoever has legal rights to the forest land.”
The latest government data available from the FRA implementation report in February 2024, shows that a total of 50,26,801 FRA claims have been received, of which 34.9% have been rejected and 15.5% are still pending for disposal.
The report also revealed that the Andaman and Nicobar administration did not recognize or give ownership of forest land across the UT to the local people under the FRA – a step required under the Forest Conservation Rules, 2017 – before the Phase-I clearance, which was granted in October, 2022.
The UT government maintains that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Act of 1956, (PAT56), adequately protects the forest rights of tribal people in the area. PAT56 gives the administrator of the island sole power through the notification and de-notification of land as Tribal Reserve – determining the area where the forest and tribes live can be used for daily sustenance.
Weeks after the Stage-1 clearance was given for the Great Nicobar Project, the Tribal Council in Campbell Bay revoked the approval given by the gram sabha, stating that the minutes of the meeting were typed after securing the signatures of the members.
Furthermore, the rights body and experts have raised doubts whether consent was obtained from Shompen in all informed, the question of how the administrative body of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands can actually represent Shompen or its interests when issuing NOC on its behalf.
Meanwhile, an investigation into the environmental clearance for the project has been conducted by an expert committee headed by the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, as ordered by the NGT but the results of this investigation have not been announced.