Is Environmental & Tribal Activism over Great Nicobar Development
Contra National Security Interests?
The implications of the key issue over Rs.72,000 crore Great Nicobar Development Project to develop transshipment port, an international airport, township development, and a 450 MVA gas and solar-based power plant on the island needs a holistic review from national security interests: “Should Environmental & Tribal Activism override National Security Interests?”
A number of articles appear on a regular basis in various media outlets to include: The Hindu, Frontline Magazine, Wire, Print, Indian Express, Peoples Dispatch, Down to Earth, Business Standard, MongaBay, Makoob Media, Civils Daily among others. Taking a cue from them, the opposition political parties are spearheading the campaign to stop the execution of the project.
Environmental & Tribal activists objections include: wrecks environment; irreversible damage to the pristine rainforests; coral reef destruction, spell extinction of 300 indigenous Shompen communities; adverse impact on settlers; destroy a sensitive nesting area for leatherback sea turtles, dolphins and other species like saltwater crocodiles, Nicobar crab-eating macaque and migratory birds. Salim Ali, the Ornithologist, advised governments during the 1970s to preserve the environment for the sake of conserving “Birds Sanctuary”. Today, his NGO is spearheading the agitation to preserve the “Biosphere Reserve”.
None other than Theodore Roosevelt in 1904 had highlighted the geo strategic significance of Oceans: “Mediterranean Ocean is an ocean of the Past; Atlantic is an Ocean of the present; and Asia-Pacific is the Ocean of the future. And, Admiral Zumwalt in 1974-75 prophesized: “India’s emergence as a super power must be accepted as an emerging reality. And, it must be prepared to assume a policing role.” De facto, the geo strategic significance of the Great Nicobar Island is due to its location on the Northern Flank of the International Shipping Lane – Grand/6 Degree Channel. None can deny that Great Nicobar Islands hold the keys to the effective policing role of the gateway to Malacca straits through which over 80% Chinese traded passes through.
More important to recognize is that the island's development is critical to secure not only India’s maritime security interests, but also to national security interests to exploit the opportunity to deter China’s mischief or war on the land frontier in the Himalayas. Surely, riposte on the Sea Front can yield strategic dividends.
Basic Facts of Andaman & Nicobar Islands: 836 islands covering area of 8,249 km2 (3,185 sq mi), of which only 31 are inhabited; and population of 380,581 as per 2011 census with density at 46/km2 (120/sq mi). By contrast, as of September 17, 2024, India's population density is 488 people per square kilometer (1,264 people per square mile) in a total land area of 2,973,190 square kilometers (1,147,955 square miles).
Surely, the “Environmental and Tribal Activists” should have no objection to promoting human settlements in the uninhabited islands. Promotion of human settlements would automatically ensure monitoring and prevention of illegal fishing and other sea bed resources thereby consolidating national security interests.
The opposition parties spearheaded by Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, know all intellectual and spokesperson, in a post on X dated 8 August 2024 highlighted three major concerns to include: destruction of a unique rainforest ecosystem through the diversion of 13,075 hectares of forest land; genocide of the Shompen tribe due to violations of legal safeguards; and, the project’s location in an earthquake-prone zone, which risks severe consequences for investment, infrastructure, and the environment.
First, Jairam Ramesh and the Congress Party must answer who started the deforestation/destruction of the pristine forests by allowing Plywood Industries to set up their factories in the late 1980s. Today, there are over 10 plywood factories to include: Duroply; Fordaq; Andaman; Kitply; Nav Durga Enterprises; Regency Ply; Zigmee Enterprises; and Patel Hardware & Plywood.; Bakultala Jayshree Plywood Factory; Venkateswara Hardware; Saha Enterprises; Samudrioka Plywood; Kandoika Industries; Friends Plywood and others. The Plywood Industries moved to the A & N islands after they nearly exhausted the pristine forests in the North East under the aegis of the Congress party by mid-1995.
Next, the issue of genocide of the Shompen or Great Nicobarese tribes is simply absurd. Is it fair and humane to allow the tribes to remain in Ape-man or Stone Age in perpetuity? Surely, it is grossly unfair to keep the tribal’s in their illiterate and poverty status forever! After all, they too must be facilitated to improve their lifestyles and livelihood. Also, the genocide of the tribal’s has not take place with full development of Port Blair in the Southern Andaman’s, the Car Nicobarese Air Base and the Camphel Bay in the Great Nicobar. Similarly, the indigenous tribes of “Dandakaranya region” and the Northeast States are today progressively catching up with the rest of Indians.
Furthermore, the scare mongering of Jairam Ramesh MP of the Congress Party that the Great Nicobar Island is located in Earthquake Seismic Zone 5 exposes his intellectual skullduggery or bankruptcy. Surely, he is well informed that Japan (around 1,500 earthquakes a year), Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia (most earthquakes), are located in the Circum-Pacific Belt, also called the Ring of Fire on the edge of Pacific Rim and even China with many areas in Seismic Zone 5 - where about 81% of the world’s largest earthquakes occur. Add to them, Iran, Turkey, Peru, U.S., Italy, Mexico, Ecuador, New Zealand, and even Afghanistan. Not to be left out of consideration is Seismic Zone 5 areas in India to include: Western and Central Himalayas, North and Middle Bihar, the North-East Indian region, and the Rann of Kutch.
The development process continues in such areas. If so, fear mongering over earthquake prone islands is absolutely ridiculous. What is necessary is a well-developed system for monitoring earthquakes and responding to seismic events. They should provide real-time earthquake information, including the location, magnitude, and depth of earthquakes. Also, there are many earthquake resistance technologies available that are in strict enforcement in Japan and other countries. Architects and engineers design earthquake-proof buildings through flexible foundations, damping, vibration deflection technology, and shear walls, cross braces, diaphragms and moment-resisting frames. These innovations are essential for ensuring maximum stability and safety for the patrons of such buildings. And, they must be strictly enforced during the execution of the Project.
Yet another significant issue to be countered is the illegal fishing and poaching by foreign countries in the EEZ of the A & N Islands and the Andaman Sea since the 1980s. Not only Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesian and Philippines fishing vessels have been annually poaching in the EEZ areas and the High Seas, but also the Chinese – the Big Fish. As per report of Greenpeace ship MV Esperanza on 19 Feb2012, “there were abundant presences of foreign vessels fishing illegally in the Indian economic exclusive zone (EEZ) off the Andaman Islands coast.” India's marine management has been riddled with irregularities and poor enforcement which has resulted in overfishing and further degradation of India's oceans. This not only leads to spread of illegal and unsustainable fishing practices in the Indian EEZ , but also loss of livelihoods for the Indian fishermen since the fish caught by the foreign vessels goes unreported and unaccounted for.
Beijing's illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in other countries' EEZ remains overlooked. China is the largest fishing nation. As per reports, no fish are left in the South China Sea due to over exploitation. According to the 2020 FAO report, "The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture", in 2018, China reported about 2.26 million tons from its "distant-water fishery". No wonder, China’s fishing trawlers are exploiting marine resources of the Indian Ocean both for domestic consumption and export.
The losses accrued from illegal fishing in the Indian EEZ, are estimated between $250 to $ 320 million annually. An estimated 10 to 12 million people in India rely on fisheries for food or employment, either directly or indirectly. How long can policy and decision makers live in “Cocoon Status” adversely affecting economic security interests – financial losses and employment opportunities - due to objections raised by activists supported by opposition political parties. Even “China Hand” cannot be ruled out.
Therefore, my fervent appeal to those opposing the Rs.72, 000 crore Great Nicobar Island Project implementation, particularly opposition political parties, media and environmental and tribal activists, is to recognize and appreciate that the geo strategic significance overrides all other considerations/objections. On the other hand, ensure that reforestation programs of denuded areas in over the last 40-years are implemented with utmost expedition, besides redeploying the endangered species on some of them. Finally, demand the present NDA government to promote human settlements on uninhabited islands and take political credit for initiating such an initiative.
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