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Niti Ayog’s Vision Plan on Andaman & Nicobar Islands: Brutally Ambitious?

Bobby Luthra Sinha

Who Lives in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands?

When the British announced their intention of retaining the Andaman and Nicobar Islands during the partition of India for the purpose of settling the Anglo-Indians as well as the Indo-Burmese, both the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League claimed their possession. In 1947, the Islands became a part of the Dominion/Union of India.

After the adoption of the Indian Constitutions on January 26th in 1950, India transitioned from being a British dominion under the monarch to a fully sovereign Republic. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands became a separate Union Territory following the re-organisation of the states in 1956 in the Republic of India,

Although the Islands were populated by the original inhabitants i.e. various groups of Adivasis since thousands of years, a penal colony was established there during the British Rule. Post –independence and especially in 1960’s and 1970’s, the Government of India initiated organized settlement programs, to increase the islands’ population and utilize the region’s resources.

Ex-servicemen, including people from Punjab, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and other parts of India and a large number of Bengali refugees from the partition of Bengal (1947) and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) were the groups relocated to these islands. The new migrant-settlers were given land for cultivation as part of schemes to develop agriculture and strengthen India’s presence in the region. This wave of migration diversified the islands’ population, creating a mix of indigenous groups, former convicts, and migrants from various states across India​, including refugee-migrants during, – partition of Bengal (1947) and later 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War

Today 31 of its 836 islands are inhabited:

The Andaman Islands are ome to four ‘Negrito’ tribes – the Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa and Sentinelese. They are believed to have arrived in the islands from Africa up to 60,000 years ago. All are nomadic hunter-gatherers, hunting wild pig and monitor lizard, and catching fish with bows and arrows. They also collect honey, roots and berries from the forest. The Sentinelese are the only people currently known to not have reached further than a Paleolithic level of technology (Old stone age).

The Nicobar Islands are Home to two ‘Mongoloid’ tribes – the Shompen and Nicobarese. They probably came to the islands from the Malay-Burma coast several thousand years ago.

The current Andaman and Nicobar Islands Development Plan:  Geopolitical Security or Business in Mind?

Of late, the Islands have been in news owing to Niti Ayog’s Vision Plan on these.  Referred to as the ‘Holistic Development of the Great Nicobar Island’ this plan focuses on transforming the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (A&N Islands) into a strategic and economic hub, with multiple development projects aimed at boosting their maritime, tourism, and commercial capacities. One of the primary motives of the plan is to build a new Greenfield Coastal City that will be developed as a free trade zone.

Piloted by NITI Aayog, the project is to be implemented by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO).   Involving the construction of a transshipment port, an international airport, a township, and a power plant, the Vision Plan entails two main projects:

Great Nicobar Island Project: NITI Ayog has proposed an ambitious project for Great Nicobar, which includes developing an international container transhipment terminal, a greenfield airport, a power plant, and a township over 166 sq. km. The Vision Plan aims to position the island as a major logistics and trade hub in the region. However, environmental concerns have been raised due to the area’s rich biodiversity that includes species such as the endangered Giant Leatherback turtle​.

Little Andaman Megacity Plan: A megacity is planned for Little Andaman, which will be developed in three zones, namely, a financial district, tourism zones, and a nature retreat. The goal is to leverage the strategic location to compete with global hubs like Singapore and Hong Kong. However, one of the major challenges here pertains to the need to preserve indigenous cultures, protect fragile ecosystems, and address legal and environmental concerns​.

Whether it concerns bio-diversity conservation or keeping the welfare of the locals and Adivasis in mind, these would not be possible without following: due procedures to get the required clearances; accountability in not hurting the cause of locals and; transparency and fairness to humanise the development vision.

Road Map Ahead:  Trade, Townships and Tourism over Bio-Diversity and Culture?

Having a vantage location in the Bay of Bengal, A&N Islands share four of India’s international maritime zone delimitations with countries such as Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. They also provide India with substantial ocean space under under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

China reinforcing its naval power in the A&N Islands augurs dangers for India reasons the government.  Further, arguing that this strategic region has not received its fair share of funds and development since independence, the Modi Government offers a competitive plan for the transformation of the islands.  Astride on western front of the Malacca Strait (on which the Chinese need a stronghold to protect their maritime trade and security interests) Great Nicobar Island is an excellent location for India to not only monitor but also push for   economic and political influence over the continental activities in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Niti Ayog’s Vision Plan on Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Figure 1 Source: https://compass.rauias.com/current-affairs/andaman-and-nicobar-through-a-strategic-lens/. Retrieved 15.10.2024.

Therefore, under India’s ‘Act East Policy’ of 2014 (a successor of ‘Look East’ Policy of 1990’s), the Government of India (GOI) is now intensifying its efforts to transform the Andaman and Nicobar Islands into a pivotal maritime security hub to the east of the Indian peninsula. Aiming to bolster security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, the GOI is gearing to remodel the A&N Islands in order to counter-balance China’s expansion in the region. Port Blair, it is being argued, has the potential of becoming a regional hub for navies to collaborate on disaster relief, medical aid, counter-piracy, search and rescue, and other maritime security initiatives.

Critics highlight the potential for forced displacement without adequate consideration of the Adivasi’s (tribes’) attachment to their natural lands, commons, heritage and habitats. Though expanding business may signify better opportunities for local people, extensive ecological harm to the islands’ dense rainforests, that are home to endangered species such as the Leatherback Sea turtles and Dugongs is very much an impending danger on the native tribal populations.

The Union Environment Ministry granted stage-I forest clearance (FC) on October 27, 2022, for the diversion of 130.75 sq kms of forest land, which will lead to the felling of approximately 9.6 lakh trees as per the GOI data. Soon thereafter, the Tribal Development council withdrew its consent/ No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the diversion of forest land under the project in November 2022.

Marred by controversies and contentious claims, the mega- infrastructural project owes the nation a transparent explanation on the modalities and ethics of its execution.

Conventional security issues such as the rising Chinese presence in the region are certainly not the only challenge: 

a) The humanitarian aspects of the current project are heavily contested and clandestine;

b) Meanwhile, non-conventional threats such as poaching of marine and forest resources, illegal migration, arms smuggling and natural disasters have been posing serious challenges to the internal security of the island chain;

c) Besides, the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC), prepared by the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has cautioned that islands like Andaman and Nicobar might not be inhabitable in a few years due to rise in sea level and increase in climatic events like cyclones. For example, the 2004 tsunami caused major ecological damage, submerging coastal areas and damaging coral reefs.

Urgent questions to ask therefor are, how the GOI plans to respond to non-conventional threats and climate change induced issues on the islands? Will it handhold and show willingness learn from the A&N Adivasis and their preferences? (More on this in ANM’s forthcoming article on the Tribes of A&N Islands)

The GOI plan has not come clear of two brutal negatives that can hamper a humanized approach to Development:

Surreptitious Business Interests: First, under the shadow of international geo-politics, the project is brutally ambitious in terms of business interests:  with more than 90,000 merchant ships carrying about 30% of the world’s traded goods passing through it annually, Malacca Strait happens to be critical maritime choke point. Connecting the Indian Ocean with the Pacific, it is used for a significant portion of global oil shipments.

Given the imbroglio in international trade points owing to the Israel –Palestine standoff, the A & N islands offer a lucrative trade and commerce alternative in the Indo-Pacific Region. The A&N Islands Vision Plan seeks to position Great Nicobar as a strategic player in global shipping routes, much like Hong Kong and Singapore, which function as major trading hub.

Imprudent Ecological Footprints: Next, the project’s sweeping ecological imprudence makes it brutally destructive. Moreover, the GOI has been underestimating the environmental impact of its Vision Plan on the rich environmental heritage and fragile ecosystems of the islands. These decisions often fail to consider sustainable practices or the need for conservation efforts. Experts argue that the government has under-stated the tree density in the Nicobar tropical forests region. Independent studies suggest that the tree density there is much higher, ranging between 500 to 900 trees per hectare. This could mean the actual number of trees felled may reach 1 crore if the project proceeds at full scale, far exceeding government estimate (as reported in Scroll.in).

Additionally, there are questions regarding the sustainability of basic resources, especially water. The projected population increase and urbanization might exhaust natural water sources, leading to severe shortages on the islands, which already face limitations in water supply​.

As far as GOI’s intentions and public interests in environment and justice go, the high point of contention between the former and latter is, ‘who gets what, when, why and how in the current bargain?’ Will the governmental projects lead to actual wealth creation, security benefits for the tribes native to the islands?

Some locals will obviously get to live the opulence and conspicuous consumption that such projects bring along, however most remain vary.

Others such as the native tribal communities will live to witness themselves being displaced from the use and management of their natural commons and the general ecological habitats irreplaceably damaged and plundered. Degradations of the natural habitat, intrusions and interference in the Tribal Reserve Areas and the presence of outsiders in the Shompen and Nicobarese tribe areas are prime issues at hand.

Critical elements of NITI Ayog’s vision plan for A&N Islands fails to Convince Critics and the Tribal Council.

NITI Aayog’s vision plan for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, particularly focusing on the Great Nicobar Island Project, aims to significantly develop infrastructure and boost the local economy by 2050. Key elements of the vision include population growth, infrastructure development and compensatory measures:

  • Population Growth: The plan targets a population increase on Great Nicobar Island from 8,500 to 650,000 by 2050.
  • Infrastructure Development: Includes establishment of new urban centers, a transshipment hub, airport, and tourism facilities, generating 105,000 direct and 157,000 indirect jobs.
  • Compensatory Measures: Afforestation and welfare committees aim to address biodiversity loss and tribal impacts, including the Shompen tribe.

However, activists and environmentalists argue that these efforts fall short of addressing the true cost to these communities and ecosystems.

To be undertaken with the motive of mitigating environmental loss, compensatory afforestation plans (which the GOI will enact in the far-off destination of Haryana) have however failed to convince critics who argue that these measures may not fully offset the biodiversity loss and disruption in tribal peoples’ life and existence on the islands.

Moreover, Tribal Council of Great Nicobar withdrew its consent for the development project in November 2022. This withdrawal came after concerns were raised that crucial information regarding the diversion of tribal reserve lands had been concealed by the administration.

The council had initially given a No Objection Certificate (NOC) in August 2022, but later realized the full impact of the project on their ancestral lands and the environment, leading to the revocation of consent​.

I touched base with renowned Anthropologist Professor Vijay Sahay who is an authority on the tribes of the A&N Islands since completing his doctoral work on the theme in 1970’s.

Professor Sahay, who has authored the book Experiencing Anthropology in the Nicobar Archipelago (2020) maintains that providing objective and authentic analyses of the local community situations that Anthropology studies and speaks about is one of the most critical roles that scholars in the field are expected to perform.

In a discussion with me, on the A&N Island project, Professor Sahay pointed out that some of the fears that people with a vested interest are raising such as dangers of disease and decimation to the local tribes on forced contact and displacement in the Great Nicobar Region may indeed be unfounded.

Medication, technology and humanitarian surveillance of issues has increased manifold in contemporary times in comparison to the earlier occurrence of such incidents on the island in India’s recent past. Much learning has happened thereafter owing to such tragic state experiences.

However, Professor Sahay agrees that any mega-developmental project that creates critical short- and long-term impacts on the local inhabitants, especially on vulnerable Adivasi communities and their habitats and national ecology should remain transparent and accountable to the public at all stages of implementation.

Is there a political Takeaway for a Collective Reflection and Revaluation on the Issue?

I argue that managing the humanitarian ethics and impacts of such projects in accordance with the constitutional rights and obligations should become the prime responsibility of all governments in power.

Moreover, why just the governments in power?  In fact, the project needs to be needs to be scrutinised with its meanings, processes and impacts picked up, analysed and discussed threadbare by the leaders of opposition in the public domain.

All documents on environmental and social consultations, clearances, stakeholders involved, and updates of the project must be made available on the public domain to help build trust and clarity.

Leaders of opposition joining hands with civil society and advocacy efforts can help pressurize the government to mitigate its ‘vision’ on the islands.

Acting as a democratic check and balance forms one of the most crucial political roles of the opposition in any country. It is high time that the inter-related matters of environmental and humanitarian concerns should form the critical agenda of the opposition in India. Uniting on such issues of humanitarian relevance will give the opposition an empowered and sustained credibility to guide governance   rather than infighting, ego and internal politicking.

Through the 2024 General Elections, Indian people have vested a strategic hope in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).  We expect that INDIA under its leader will be able to initiate a collective reflection and revaluation of the A&N project and provide support to many such strategic, developmental and humanitarian issues all over India.

Author of, ‘How Social Movements Imagine: Anthropology of Protest and the Newer Social Movements in India and South Africa’, Dr. Bobby Luthra Sinha is the Deputy Director at the Centre for Asian African and Latin American Studies (CAALAS), ISS, Delhi.

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