Nicobar tribal concerns on NCST table again, islands council flags ‘unanswered concerns’

The tribal council’s latest petition to NCST, dated December 6, was prompted by a November 26 interview of NCST chairperson Antar Singh Arya, published in The Indian Express, in which he said that the Commission has not received any representations regarding the council’s withdrawal of no-objection to denotification of a tribal reserve, and diversion of forest, for the project.

The tribal council chairman, Barnabas Manju, has also drawn the NCST’s attention to the council’s July 21 complaint to Jual Oram, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, which had flagged that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration made a false claim about settlement of forest rights of tribal communities. The chairman stated that the claims on settlement of rights under Forest Rights Act, 2006 were made, even as the process of recognition of rights had not even begun on the islands. The tribal council chairman said in his letter that he was ‘saddened’ that no response was received towards any of these representations.

“I am writing in response to your interview published in The Indian Express on 26 November, 2025 where you have stated that the NCST has not received any representation regarding the withdrawal of NOC for the diversion of forest and de-notification of tribal reserve,” the tribal council’s letter dated 6 December states. The council chairman also said that the older representations are being made available with the hope that the NCST will look into the issue and address our concerns this time.

The Indian Express reached out Arya for a response on the tribal council’s letter. Arya said that though these letters were sent to the commission before he took charge in March 2024, he said, “I will seek information on this matter and look into it.” Meanwhile, speaking to The Indian Express, Barnabas Manju said he “hopes the representations present the true picture to NCST regarding the demands and issues of the tribal communities, since the NCST team which visited the islands did not meet them.”

The Rs 81,000 crore Great Nicobar infrastructure project—planned over 166 sq km and involves diversion of 130 sq km of forest land—will see construction of a transshipment port, an integrated township, a civil and military use airport, a 450 MVA gas and solar power-based plant.

The older representations and grievances, sent to the NCST once again, relate to the impacts the mega project will have on the ancestral lands of the Nicobarese community, who were displaced from their villages during the 2004 Great Tsunami, and the impacts on the particularly vulnerable Shompen tribe.

The tribal council has also categorically said to the tribal affairs minister in July that they do not want the proposed project to be sited in their villages, or any area that is part of the tribal reserve area or areas being used by the Shompen tribe, whose numbers are in only hundreds.

The tribal council chairman’s letter goes on to list two communications sent by it in 2022.

The first one, dated 22 August, 2022 was addressed to the Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and marked to the NCST among other agencies, and pertained to relocation of the Nicobarese of Great Nicobar Island to their pre-tsunami (2004 tsunami) villages at the earliest. The second, dated November 22, 2022, pertained to the tribal council’s revocation of a no-objection certificate for diversion of 130 sqkm of forest for the Great Nicobar infrastructure project, and revoking consent for de-notification of a tribal reserve spanning 84.10 sq km.

In the letter revoking its no-objection certification, the tribal council had pointed out that it was not made aware of that their tribal reserve would fall in the layout of the mega-project. The council had said back then that it was shocked and distressed to learn that parts of the pre-tsunami villages of Chingenh, along the south east coast, and Kokeon, Pulo Pucca, Pulo Baha and In-haeng-loi, along the south west coast, will also be de-notified and diverted for the project. This, it had pointed out, was concealment of facts, and impacted their demands to go back to their ancestral villages.

An award-winning journalist with 14 years of experience, Nikhil Ghanekar is an Assistant Editor with the National Bureau [Government] of The Indian Express in New Delhi. He primarily covers environmental policy matters which involve tracking key decisions and inner workings of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He also covers the functioning of the National Green Tribunal and writes on the impact of environmental policies on wildlife conservation, forestry issues and climate change. Nikhil joined The Indian Express in 2024. Originally from Mumbai, he has worked in publications such as Tehelka, Hindustan Times, DNA Newspaper, News18 and Indiaspend. In the past 14 years, he has written on a range of subjects such as sports, current affairs, civic issues, city centric environment news, central government policies and politics. ... Read More

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