CAMPBELL BAY (Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India): Several tribal leaders in the Great Nicobar Islands have expressed concerns over the proposed mega infrastructure project in the region.
The leaders met Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who is currently visiting the islands, and apprised him of their concerns over the potential environmental damage that the project will cause and the way it will affect tribal rights. Tribal communities in Campbell Bay in Nicobar district have been alleging lack of transparency, environmental risks and neglect of tribal rights in the project. The proposed project includes a trans-shipment port, an integrated township, a dual-use civil and military airport, and a power plant.
Representatives of tribal communities alleged that they were facing considerable hardship due to the proposed Great Nicobar projects and demanded that the central government take their concerns into account. Titus Peter, First Captain (village head) of Pulobhabi village, said that people of Campbell Bay expressed apprehension about the impact on the Shompen tribe, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG). They claimed that increased contact with outsiders could expose them to diseases and threaten their survival.
Peter also warned of ecological damage, saying the Great Nicobar project could adversely affect endemic species unique to the island. He alleged that the administration had not maintained transparency over the project, leaving tribal communities unaware of the full scale and implications of the project.
Gandhi criticized the alleged corporate influence in the archipelago and stressed that development should prioritize local needs rather than corporate interests.
Senior Congress leader from Andaman G. Bhasker, who is accompanying Gandhi, alleged that the government had ‘cheated’ the tribal communities by obtaining No Objection Certificates (NOC) from them without disclosing the full facts about the project.
Bhasker said: “In its present form, the project raises significant environmental and social concerns, and we want urgent attention in this matter.
In a social media post, Gandhi said: “The government calls what it is doing here a ‘project’. What I have seen is not a project. It is millions of trees marked for the axe. It is 160 square kilometers of rainforest condemned to die. It is communities that have been ignored while their homes have been snatched away. This is not development. This is destruction dressed in development’s language.”
Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel and get instant updates
