SANE Newsletter

February 2003

Island Development Authority (IDA) Meeting: A Retrospect

The Island Development Authority (IDA), the highest policy - making body for the Island Territories of India met at Port Blair on the 19th January, 03, under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The meeting was attended by the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Mr. K.C. Pant and Ministers Ved Prakash Goyal (Shipping), T.R. Baalu (Env. & Forest), Jual Oram (Tribal Affairs), Sahib Singh Verma (Labour), Ch. Vidya Sagar Rao (MoS, Home), Vinod Khanna (MoS Tourism) apart from Lt. Governor NN Jha and A&N MP Bishnu Pada Ray.

The announcement of the IDA meeting and the barrage of propaganda unleashed by our lone MP (BJP) had raised high hopes in the minds of the persons affected by the Hon'ble Supreme Court order of 7th May 2002. The affected persons include the pre and post 1978 forest encroachers who await eviction, the employees of the A&N Forest & Plantation Development Corporation ordered to be wound up, the timber based industries ordered to close shop by the 31st March, 03 and the sand - miners, who are required to reduce mining by 20% every year over the previous year's collection for five years.

The Agenda and minutes of IDA meetings are supposedly confidential. But MP B.P. Ray had liberally distributed a 33 page document with 53 agenda items that he had proposed for inclusion. The points included declaration of the Andaman Trunk Road (ATR) as deemed National Highway and widening it to double its present width. The SC had ordered closure of two stretches of ATR adjacent to the Jarawa Reserve within three months, which has not so far been complied with. The MP's proposal included granting a host of concessions over and above what the SC ordered to the encroachers.

Inspite of a marathon presentation by Mr. BP Ray, the PM was too diplomatic and did not go beyond announcing a 90% subsidy for Islanders in an inter - island helicopter service to be started by Pawan - Hans and referring most of the other issues to a Standing Committee of Secretaries which would submit their recommendations within 90 days to the Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs.

The PM, in his concluding remarks said, "The imperative to harmonise the concern for preserving the rich environmental resources of these regions with the developmental aspirations of their residents has also posed a significant challenge that needs to be suitably addressed. The delicate balance has to be carefully worked out in a manner that ensures compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court in this regard". (Italics - added).

This is not the first time that a tricky problem is consigned to the safety of a committee; neither would it be the last. The PM, caught between the Supreme Court directions on one side and the political imperative perceived by his party leaders on the other, perhaps compromised by issuing a politically correct written statement to the Press announcing a few minor sops to the host of govt. servants, token concessions of regularization of 86 hectares of land in possession of the Pre - 1942 settlers and allotting 200 Sq. mts. of land to the Pre - 1942 settlers in lieu of their legally held land acquired by the Administration in the past. This has infuriated the local community as the PM offered only 200 Sq. mts. to people who were deprived of acres of legally held land without any compensation while being so generous as to raise the land grant of 500 Sq. mts. to an acre to the post 1978 forest encroachers. The PM's concern for the for the Tribals was expressed by renaming the Car Nicobar Hospital as "Bishop John Richardson Hospital" and announcing a grant of Rupees thirty Lakhs to the Nicobaree Athletic Association.

IDA: Ancient History & Current Events

The IDA was established in August, 1986 at the instance of and under the Chairmanship of Late Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister "to decide on policies and programmes for integrated environmentally sound development of the Islands." During Rajiv Gandhi era the IDA met regularly, sponsored many scientific studies and took major policy decisions, which, if implemented, would have had far - reaching implications. Among the decisions taken were: i). fixing a limit to extraction of timber at one lakh cu. mtr. per annum with the object of phasing out timber extraction eventually. ii) Stopping the population influx and issue of Identity Cards to the Islanders, etc. It is ironical that some of the same orders were passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court on 7th May, 02 and the current meeting of the IDA had to devote a large chunk of available time to consider the implications of the SC order.

The decisions of the IDA were left to an unwilling Administration to implement, which was further hindered and perhaps even influenced by the local politicos, the contractors and businessmen.

Marathon Meeting

The IDA meeting was schedule to be held for two hours only but it stretched to five hours. The Press briefing was consequently delayed, too. To explain the delay, Mr. Vinod Khanna, MoS (Tourism), informed that Mr. B.P Ray, Andaman MP took four and a half hours to present his point of view and to brief the Members. The rest of the time, all of 30 minutes, included the opening remarks of Mr. K.C Pant (Dy. Chairman, Planning Commission), the discussions and the concluding remarks by the Prime Minister.

IDA Decisions: Face or Mask?

While the Prime Minister, in his concluding remarks at the IDA meeting, had said, "The delicate balance has to be carefully worked out in a manner and ensures compliance with the decision of the Supreme Court in this regard." In the public meeting held on the 19th January, the PM announced that 1993 will be the deadline for extending the civic amenities like water and electricity to the people residing in these Islands. The announcement seems superfluous because any citizen gets water and power connections just for the asking provided he is in legal occupation of his premises. The PM's announcement is being interpreted as a licence to extend power and water connections to all encroachers. The floodgates have been opened and the officials including the DC and the PCCF who had bravely resisted political pressure so far are now helpless when faced with an order of the Prime Minister himself. Although the PM's announcement confirmed in a letter of MHA allows thes facility to the revenue encroachers only, it is likely to be widely misused to grant comfort and solace to the forest encroachers also. After all, according to the affidavit submitted by the Administration to the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the borders between forest land and revenue land are not demarcated. In other words, the Administration does not know for sure whether a particular land is forest or revenue.

The PM's assurance of allotting one hectare of land to the "descendents of pre - 42, registered settlers and others", is a post dated cheque on a crashing bank. The Islands simply do not have enough revenue land for this. Will this be done in the forests?

Tourism Development Vis-à-vis Inner Line

The Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, in its judgment of 7th May 2002, had directed that "For the regulation of entry of the people to the Islands by declaring the islands an Inner Line Area within three months to stop further encroachments and rampant immigration into the islands." More than eight months have passed but no action has so far been taken. His Excellency Mr. NN Jha Hon'ble Lt. Governor of A&N Islands has been reported in the media to have stated that declaring an Inner Line area would affect the tourism sector.

Tourism is certainly one of the most important economic options and everything must be done to promote it sustainably. But declaring an inner line area undoubtedly would not affect the tourism sector. A look at the following table of arrival of foreign tourists into Andamans would be revealing.

Out of a total of 4215, 4620 and 3282 foreign tourist arriving by air and ship (except yachts & luxury liners) during the last three years (2000, 2001 & 2002), 1221, 1789 and 1300 foreigners arrived by ship. According to the data submitted by Mr. BP Ray, Member of Parliament to the IDA, each ship passage is subsidised to the extent of Rs. 5500/ - to Rs. 6000/ - per passenger. In other words, the 4310 foreigners who arrived by ship during the last three years got an unintended subsidy of 4.74 to 5.17 Crore Rupees out of the territorial budget allocated by the Parliament to improve the lot of the islanders. This amount is about 1% of the annual territorial budget.

The statistics also reveal a dangerous trend. The ship arrivals were 29% of the total in 2000 but rose to 38% in 2001 and then to 40% in 2002. Obviously word of the free lunch offered by the islands is getting around fast and the freeloaders are making a beeline for the Islands.

This group of tourists actually consume much more subsidy than the amount shown above. They use water free, electricity that is highly subsidized and even fuel, food stuff and public transport which are all subsidized.

As of today, the Administration has no tool to prevent this group of foreigners visiting us. Declaration of inner line would permit the Administration to be selective. Even now every tourist has to get a special permission to visit Andamans, so getting an Inner Line Permit need not be too inconvenient.

For example in Bhutan, Tourism department, Tour operators and the National Park Managers together decide on a quantum of tourists for a particular year. The tourists pay an entry fee of $200.00 which is not refundable.

If all our Consulates and Embassies abroad are authorized to issue an Inner Line Permit for Andamans just on application, provided the applicant pays a certain entry fee and gets $ 500.00 converted to rupees on arrival, which would not be permitted to be re - converted back to dollars, we would have tourists who would contribute to our economy instead on depending on our economy to support them. As for the Indian tourists, they are in any case halting at Calcutta or Chennai to catch a flight or a ship. The Liaison Officers of the Administration can be empowered to grant inner line permits for 15 days stay, just on application and payment of a token fee of say Rs. 50/ - or so. This way, tourism will not be affected at all. Rather, tourism development will be focussed towards revenue earning.

Let's Preserve our Forests

This is an ancient story &endash; the story of Jeevak, a great exponent of the Ayurveda. When Jeevak had nearly completed his long training in the Gurukul, the Guru called all his disciples and asked them, "Go unto the forest, and fetch me a plant that has no use." The disciples went away to the forest.

A while later, the first one returned with a plant. Then another and another. By the sunset, all were back except Jeevak. Jeevak did not return that night or even the next. On the third day, Jeevak walked back with a tired gait, unbathed, unshaved, unfed. He approached the great Guru empty - handed and fell at his feet. He lamented, "O Guru, I am good for nothing. I am not worthy of being your student. You had given a simple command but I failed you. I could not fulfill it even after three days' untiring toil. Gurudev, I could not, in these three days, find a single plant that is useless in the vast forest."

The great Guru raised Jeevak from his feet and embraced him. He said, 'Oh Jeevak &endash; you are the fulfillment of my life's purpose. You alone have understood that nothing in God's creation and Nature is useless. You alone, of all my disciples, have realised this. Go, my son, I have nothing more to teach you. Go and serve the mankind."

The morale of this story is most relevant here and now. The forests of Andamans are like the many books in the library of Alexandria. Alas, the library is losing books even before anyone has had a chance of reading these. One of the doctors while working to save the ancient Jarawa tribe from an epidemic of measles two years back, acquired much respect for the Jarawa knowledge of medicinal value of plants. These traditions must be kept alive and we must learn from them.

Let us today remember Edmund Burke's confession, "Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little".

Appropriate Building Technology

A team of experts from the Centre of Science & Technology for Rural Development (COSTFORD) was on a study tour of the Islands earlier this month. Apart from visiting different locations in both Andamans and Nicobars, the team had interaction with engineers of APWD including the Chief Engineer, senior officers of the Administration including the Chief Secretary, etc. It is understood that they were invited by Mr. Pradeep Singh, Chief Secretary, to advise the Administration on building technology for the Islands.

COSTFORD, a highly reputed NGO from Kerala, headed by the legendary architect, Padma Shree Laurie Baker, who had revolutionised rural construction technology by use of locally available raw material and minimising high - energy inputs. Laurie Baker settled in India in 1945 and become an Indian Citizen in 1988. In addition to numerous residential buildings, he has to his credit the design and construction of Children's village, Fisherman's Village, Tourist Centres, Chapels, Schools and even Auditorium. He had visited the Islands a decade ago and had even produced a report on an appropriate building technology for Andamans.

Port Blairans are grateful to Chief Secretary Pradeep Singh for having retrieved the report from the dusty confines of some record room and for involving Laurie Baker's team in devising an alternate building technology here.

The team of experts from COSTFORD included Er. VV Sudhakaran, Vice President and Chief Engineer, COSTFORD, Er. C.K. Prabhakaran, retired CE, Kerala PWD and Er. P.B. Sajan. It is understood that COSTFORD favours avoidance of cement concrete wherever possible and promoting the use of timber and bamboo as main construction material. They also advocate the use of lime in place of cement and stone/brick dust in place of sea sand.

Andamanians await their report, which might well usher in a new era of sustainable development.

Endangered Tree Ferns

Recently discovery of a Tree Fern in Australia was reported in the international media. Hosts of Botanists and other interested persons reached there. Urgent action was iniitated to protect this lone specimen of a rare species. Tree ferns are one of the oldest plants that evolved on earth 450 millions years ago, long before the advent of the flowering plants. These are, therefore, termed as fossil - trees and have become a curiosity in modern world. By comparison, we modern humans, have been around for less than one lakh years.

It is not widely known that our Islands have this unique and now rare tree. Tree ferns ( Cyathea sp.) are found in the Nicobars, particularly in the Great Nicobar Island. Until recently, they were not known be facing any threat. While the tribes residing there had perhaps no use of these ferns, the immigrants have found a novel use. They cut down the emerging tree ferns and immerse the stem in water bodies to catch shrimps, prawns and crabs which take shelter in the cylindrical hollow at the center of the trunk. This is becoming a favourite sport of the youngsters, mainly in the Island of Katchal.

Perfectly stable ecosystems may get disturbed by the introduction of an exotic. Similarly, introduction of an exotic technology can disturb an ecosystem and even lead to extinction of species. In late eighties, Dr. Dekker was invited by the Govt. of India to study the status of the Nicobar Megapods. Dr. Dekker found that the megapods were threatened by the immigrants inducted by GREF for road building who had brought with them traps and snares not earlier in use in the Island. Similar situations were observed in the Great Andamans and Little Andaman in relation to the Andaman Wild Boar and spotted deers. Traps and Snares caused a substantial depletion of population of these two species through the introduction of these by the new immigrant population. Today, Andaman Wild Boar has become quite rate in many areas including the tribal reserves. The Onge of Little Andamans are on record complaining against such resource depletion.

The following articles are quite relevant to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, wherein there is an unaimed, 'mad - rush' seen, to earn revenue through tourism. A good example can be the increase in the number of tourist vehicles and tour operators apart from unplanned lodges and hotels that have come up in the past five years or so. No doubt, tourists visiting the islands, from India as well as from abroad have increased much but has the Administration thought of the adverse affect this will have on the eco - system of the islands? Are we not preparing to repeat the melancholy saga of Goa and Kovalam which has already lost its charm in a similar mad - rush?

We talk about eco tourism in the Islands. The eco - friendly village on the way to Carbyn's Cove is a frightening example. SANE in its earlier issue had mentioned about the UNDP sponsored study through NEERI in which it was suggested to go for a high Value Low Volume kind of tourism after a thorough study of the carrying capacity of the islands. It's high time for the Administration to wake up and check the direction in which Tourism is heading in the islands.

- Editor

Sad Examples of Abuse of the Coast

The twelve coastal states face pressures from urbanization and related land reclamation, and port development (EQUATIONS 2000).

While the coasts of Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu are examples of intensive industrialization, tourism's adverse impacts on the coastal environment is perhaps nowhere more visible than in Kerala & Goa. Kovalam, a small village in Kerala,stands as a stark reminder of the change that unplanned Tourism can inflict on the local people and environment. Today the fishing village does not exist. In its place one finds unplanned hotels and restaurants most of them located hardly ten meters from the sea in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone guidelines. There are more than 150 resorts, shacks and restaurants in a ingle ward of the Panchayat. The construction of buildings has drastically increased the rate of sea erosion with the sea ingress reaching upto five meters every year. Hotels discharge their waste into an open sewer runs that runs parallel to the beach. Tourism induced inflation has led to an increase in land prices and essential commodities. Now written off as a 'spent destination' tourism in a sense has abandoned Kovalam and is spreading to near by villages, displacing again the same communities it displaced when it emerged in Kovalam.

The emergence of Tourism in nearby relatively untouched areas like Vizhinjam, chappath, Pulinkudy and Varkala is likely to see a hightened "Kovalam effect" as many large hotel groups and resorts have joined in for the Tourism spoils.

Three and a half decade of mass Tourism have mede the once prestine beaches of Goa sad exemplars of haphazard development. There are about 400 hotels and 350 shacks in an around the beaches. More than 77% of these are located around the beach, amongst everyone of them within within the 200 - meters of the HTL (EQUATIONS 1997).

Destruction of sand dunes and an erosion prone coast is what is left of Goa today. In 1996 the National Committee on Tourism, Planning Commission of India observed 'the natural charm of coastal area and marine area is being adversely affected by massive tourism development. Goa can be cited as an example. The beach resort facilities are spread all along the coastline of Goa. They undermine the natural sand dunes ecosystem of the coastal areas. The uncontrolled spurt in construction activity provoked by tourist influx in Goa, particularly the extraction of sand dunes for development works has led to a continual erosion of coastal areas by the relentless sea.'

Similar situations prevail in the beach tourism centres of Mammallapuram and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. Coasts adjacent to these tourism centres face severe erosion and sea accretion. The community in Kanyakumari is sandwiched between the high - rise buildings and the erosion prone beach, without space to even park their boats. In Mammallapuram two hotels, the Temple Bay Ashok and Taj Fishermen's Cove, have lost substantial property due to the accretion of the sea (EQUATIONS 2000c).

Ecotourism - ecology or eco-monies?

by K.T. Suresh, COMBAT LAW

The Nagarhole hotel case is one example of the possible conflicts that can arise due to such regulatory laws in ecologically sensitive areas. The Taj group of hotels was awarded a contract by the Forest Department of Karnataka in 1994 to run an eco - friendly jungle lodge in the Nagarhole National Park. This put into perspective the historic exclusion of tribal communities from the area, their homeland since time immemorial.

The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 provides for the extinguishing of all rights of local inhabitants in National parks. Since the 1960s to this day the adivasis of Nagarhole have been systematically pushed to locations ranging from one to twelve kilometers from the fringe areas of the forest. With hardly any compensation, they have been reduced to living in ghettos, of which some are government sponsored, and restricted from their ancestral lands. In November 1996 the Nagarhole Budakattu Hakku Samsthapanasamiti &endash; an adivasi organization, filed the petition against the Karnataka Forest Department and the Taj Group of Hotels.

The petitioners argued that under WPA, 1972 a five star hotel was totally prohibited in a national park, as it was a non - forest activity. The court, after examining the WPA, 1972 and the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, pronounced the contract illegal and void and stated that the property be handed back to the state government. An incomplete victory though, as the adivasis of Nagarhole continue with their struggle. The right to live right to live in their ancestral lands.

The Periyar Tiger Reserve, located in the Western Ghats &endash; among the 18 - biodiversity hot spots in the world, in Kerala is another example of the blatant violation of laws by both the government and the industry. There are three hotels operated by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) functioning inside the Reserve. Added to this the families of the forest officials and the employees of the KTDC reside in the Reserve and the waste generated by the hotels and housing quarters is directly discharged into the nearby lake. Vehicles carrying tourists are also allowed to enter the Reserve and electric wires to the hotels have often led to the death of wildlife. It is over six years since the 25 - year - old lease agreement with the Kerala Forest Department expired but the hotels continue to operate in violation of the law.

These concerns are not unique to the areas mentioned above. As state governments turn to tourism as a means to development the fallacies of centralized tourism planning are increasingly evident. Its adverse impacts, on ecosystems, local economies, women and children, cultures and local regulatory bodies, are conveniently ignored in the mad rush for foreign exchange. Hotels and related infrastructure like roads and electricity generation plants consume huge amounts of energy, water and generate pollution and wastes often in ecologically fragile destinations that are unsuited to deal with such impacts.

But Tourism continues to be one of the least regulated industries in the country. In the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification of 1992, tourism projects in forest regions are not mentioned in the list of projects requiring environmental clearance from the Central Government.

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