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Books

Grim warning Shompen and Nicobarese
people living in camps in
THE GREAT NICOBAR
BETRAYAL reserved areas of Camp-
LASH FLOODS, Curated by Pankaj Sekhsaria bell Bay since the tsunami
wildfires, cyclones, THG PUBLISHING of 2004 (in which over
Fdroughts, land- Rs.499 10,000 perished). They
slides and earthquakes are have not been allowed to
climate catastrophes which Pages 100 return to their ancestral
are Mother Nature’s reac- habitats, which have been
tion to relentless indus- declared “vacant” and thus
trialisation in the name of shipment port at Galathea such as the potential for accessible to land sharks
development. Bay (a prime nesting site international trade and and “developmental”
But is anyone heeding of the giant leatherback cargo transshipment, tour- projects. With no means
these warnings? Certainly turtle), an international ism, and employment of of living their normal
not the incumbent Govern- airport, a gas and power 350,000 inhabitants from lives, they are surviving as
ment of India. Within a plant, a greenfield town- mainland India. construction labour, and
two-year period, the Union ship with luxury hotels and In 2023, the Ministry slowly but surely dying
Ministry of Environment, tourism attractions spread of Ports, Shipping, and from alcoholism and a
Forest and Climate Change over 160 sq. km to host Waterways invited expres- host of diseases imported
and the National Green and house 3.5 lakh citizens sions of interest (EOI) for by outside settlers and
Tribunal (NGT) have from mainland India. the construction of a port environmental changes.
granted final environmen- The environmental in Galathea Bay. Ten firms As of 2022, there are 245
tal clearance to a project, impact will be deforesta- have submitted their EOIs. Shompens and 420 (of
ironically titled ‘Holistic tion of over 1 million trees, Among them Adani Ports, 1200) Great Nicobarese
Development of Great several centuries old, JSW Infra, Royal Boskalis living in the ‘reservations’
Nicobar Island’. The Anda- displacement of the last re- Westminster, Rail Vikas set up by government.
man & Nicobar Islands maining indigenous popu- Nigam, Container Corpo- In 2022, The Tribal
— comprising pristine lation of Shompen tribals ration of India, and Essar Council of Little and
forest totaling an area of and The Great Nicobarese Ports. Great Nicobar Islands
3,185 sq. km in the eastern people, and destruction In 1978, former Prime wrote to the President and
Indian Ocean and inhab- of the natural ecology of Minister Rajiv Gandhi Prime Minister of India
ited by tribal communities the island. The proposed had rejected proposals for protesting colonisation
— are India’s last outpost budget for this project is construction of a trans- of their lands and liveli-
in the east. Rs.72,000 crore, to which shipment port at sites in hoods. There has been no
Researcher-academic add inevitable project the A&N islands, includ- response from any of the
and currently senior proj- over-runs of Rs.28,000 ing Port Blair, citing its addressees.
ect scientist, DST-Centre crore to arrive at a round potential impact on the Eminent scholar
for Policy Research, IIT- Rs.100,000 crore. islands’ endemic tribal Prof. G.N. Devy, warns:
Delhi, Pankaj Sekhsaria The reasons given by culture and ecology. And “Decades from now, when
is a vocal and articulate NGT for implementation it was declared a Notified Indians look back on the
critic of environmental of this project are: Protected Area. ideological architecture of
and ecology damage being • Boosting defence In 2021, through a slew this devastating project,
inflicted countrywide by capabilities. The Indian of de-notifications, the they may feel ashamed
government and industry. Ocean has emerged as Government of India abol- of how they remained
In this slim volume (100 a key intersection zone ished all property rights of silent when such a
pages with photographs) of Indian and Chinese the indigenous population, mindless project was being
he presents a compila- strategic interests. the Galathea Bay Wildlife executed.”
tion of critiques, essays • Elimination of poaching Sanctuary, forest protec- This book is of seminal
written by experts warning of flora and fauna. The tion of over 200 sq. km of importance, warning of the
of magnitude of devasta- project document cites evergreen, centuries-old aftermath — the disaster
tion this unspoilt island media reports of marine forests and their endemic that will be unleashed on
will suffer if this project is resources — corals, sharks ecology of birds, insects, this pristine island, and on
implemented. and fish — being illegally flora and fauna. the planet — should this
It proposes to establish poached. The greatest injustice project see light of day.
a Rs.40,000 crore trans- • Economic considerations is being meted out to the ANIL THAKORE

80 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2024