Great Nicobar Project: Jairam Ramesh alleges ‘flagrant violation’ of tribal rights, writes to minister Jual Oram
Hey future lawyer! Let's chat about a news item that's super relevant for your CLAT. Jairam Ramesh has written to the Tribal Affairs Minister, alleging 'flagrant violations' of tribal rights in the Great Nicobar Project. He says the government's claims of following rules are false. Basically, the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA), which protects rights of forest-dwelling communities, wasn't properly implemented. Gram Sabhas, or village councils, reportedly gave consent, but Ramesh claims these were illegally formed by non-tribals. This links directly to Constitutional Law, like Article 244 and the Fifth Schedule, and highlights the significance of the FRA for indigenous communities like the Shompen, a PVTG. Bottom line for the exam: know the FRA, tribal rights, and Gram Sabhas' role.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh wrote to Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Jual Oram Wednesday and alleged that the rights of the tribal community under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, were violatedin the case of the Great Nicobar Island Project, and sought ‘credible, remedial action’ immediately.
Rebutting the Centre’s claims in a ‘Great Nicobar Project FAQ’ issued on May 1, which stated that all statutory procedures and policy safeguards for tribal protection were duly complied, Ramesh called these claims “entirely false”. The Congress leader charged that the gram sabhas convened in Campbell Bay, Laxmi Nagar, and Govind Nagar on August 12, 2022, to divert more than 13,000 hectares of forest land for the mega project, and that theirresolutions were illegal because they comprised settlers.
“Only the Nicobarese and Shompen scheduled tribes are entitled to settlement of individual and community rights under the FRA, 2006,” he said.
He added that the certificate of rights issued by the Deputy Commissioner, Nicobar District, on August 12, 2022. relied on the “fraudulent consent” of the Gram Sabha, and went on to certify that all rights under the FRA, 2006, have been settled.
“The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, as the nodal agency for implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, must take serious note of the flagrant violation of the rights of tribal communities and due processes under that historic law in the case of the Great Nicobar Island Project and take credible remedial action immediately,” Ramesh urged Jual Oram.
Ramesh also asked Oram to direct the Andaman and Nicobar administration to withdraw the certificate of rights issued on August 18, 2022, the proceedings of the sub-divisional level committee (SDLC) on August 12, 2002, and the “illegal” gram sabha resolutions of non-tribals of August 12, 2022. “FRA, 2006, must be implemented in letter and spirit, in provisions and processes in a transparent and accountable manner,” he added.
On the Shompen tribe, classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), Ramesh said the Andaman and Nicobar administration claimed that an officer of the Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti (AAJVS) had consented on their behalf. He rejected this as illegal proxy consent and flagged a conflict of interest that the top leadership of AAJVS overlaps with that of ANIIDCO (Andaman and Nicobar Islands Development Corporation), the project’s own development corporation and proponent.
The former union minister also alleged that the island administration’s claims that a “no-objection certificate” signed by the chairman of the Little and Great Nicobar tribal council, as part of the SDLC proceedings, contravened the FRA, 2006. “No single person can accord consent on behalf of an entire community that is entitled the rights provided for in FRA, 2006,” he said.
The tribal council of the Great Nicobarese indigenous community has repeatedly written to the Centre, the island administration and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes that it had revoked its “no-objection” for denotification of a tribal reserve for the project. The community has also, on multiple occasions, written to authorities to have them rehabilitated on their ancestral land along the western coast of the island, which was affected by the 2004 Tsunami.
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