BRIC Team reports: Environment clearance to Great Nicobar Project given without adequate study: Jairam RameshIn a letter to the Assistant Conservator of Forests of the Nicobar Forest Division, the tribal council on April 23 this year, reiterated that the three sanctuaries on Little Nicobar Island, Meroe and Menchal Islands were announced without any consultation with the residents and traditional owners and caretakers of the islands. The council noted that of these three sites, Meroe and Menchal islands are of “high cultural and spiritual significance” to the Nicobarese; they believe the sites are home to the spirits of their ancestors.The council was responding to a notice for a meeting of the committee constituted to determine the eco-sensitive zone around these three sanctuaries – the Leatherback Turtle Sanctuary in parts of LNI, the Megapode Sanctuary in all of Menchal Island, and the Coral Sanctuary on the entire Meroe Island.
In the letter, the council said its chairman was not consulted before the committee was formed – he was merely informed that he was part of the committee, that too a month later.The council said the notification for these sanctuaries should be revoked and the committee on eco-sensitive zones be dissolved, as they were against the wishes of the community. Gram Sabhas that gave nod to Nicobar project did not have mandatory 50% quorumJairam Ramesh writes to MinisterMeanwhile, on Wednesday (May 13, 2026), Congress leader and former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh wrote to Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, asserting that consent procedures under the Forest Rights Act were violated in the case of the GNI project.
Background
The consent was sought through Gram Sabhas, which represented settler families, when it should have been sought through the Tribal Council of the Nicobarese communities, which are the people who have a claim over the forest land under the FRA.He also questioned how the government-controlled Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti could grant consent for the project on behalf of the Shompen, a particularly vulnerable tribal group. Oram to intervene and have the A&NI administration withdraw clearances granted under the law.Days ago, Mr. In May, the administration sought objections or claims to these lands, and on July 19, the Nicobar Deputy Commissioner issued an order certifying that there were no objections to the notification and that no claims to the land had been received.That year, in August, the Tribal Council of Little and Great Nicobar wrote to the district administration, noting that the July 19 order was issued without ensuring that the notice of the plans for the sanctuaries reached the residents of Little Nicobar Island.
Key facts
- Oram to intervene and have the A&NI administration withdraw clearances granted under the law.Days ago, Mr.
- “We have a deep reverence for these islands since they harbour ancient spirits of our ancestors.
- Our customs and practices have ensured the integrity of all life on these islands remains intact,” the council said.
What this means
The council said that no announcement calling for objections or claims to the lands was made in the villages of Little Nicobar or in Rajiv Nagar in Great Nicobar, as required by the law.The council explained that the Nicobarese have a traditional belief system passed on by their ancestors, “through which we manage the islands of Meroe and Menchal”. “We have a deep reverence for these islands since they harbour ancient spirits of our ancestors. Our customs and practices have ensured the integrity of all life on these islands remains intact,” the council said.
In these objections from November 2024, the council had also given a list of what these islands really needed, which included provisions for clean public toilets, community facilities, jetties, footpaths, ring wells for water, and cellular towers, among other infrastructure.In an attempt to respond to the concerns raised by the tribal council, the Nicobar administration, in May 2025, issued a “clarification” noting that the declaration of the three sanctuaries would not affect the “hunting rights conferred on the Scheduled Tribes of the Nicobar Islands”. A month after this, the Tribal Council had once again written to the administration reiterating its objection to the sanctuaries.
