The Great Nicobar Project: A Legal Tussle Highlighting Governance Gaps and FRA Violations
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Indian Polity and Governance (Key Legislations - Forest Rights Act 2006, role of ministries, role of judiciary); Environment (Forest Clearance, Protected Areas, Tribal Rights).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 2 (Polity, Governance, Social Justice): Government policies and interventions; Mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of vulnerable sections; Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability.
General Studies Paper 3 (Environment): Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation.
Key Highlights from the News
The forest clearance granted for the Great Nicobar Islands project is under challenge in the Calcutta High Court.
Petitioners argue that the consent of indigenous communities was obtained in violation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA) for the project.
The local Tribal Council has complained that procedures for recognizing rights under the FRA have not been initiated in the Nicobar Islands, and the Deputy Commissioner's 2022 certificate stating that rights were settled is "false representation."
Based on this new complaint, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has now sought a "factual report" from the Andaman administration.
Ironically, the same ministry had previously filed an affidavit in the High Court, requesting to be removed from the party list in the case, arguing that the implementation of FRA is the responsibility of states/union territories.
This incident highlights the lack of coordination between central ministries and a tendency to evade responsibility.
Detailed Explanation: Key Concepts
Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006:
Key Provisions:
Recognizes the rights of traditional forest-dwelling tribal communities and other forest dwellers over forest land and forest resources.
Empowers the Gram Sabha as the primary authority for determining and verifying rights.
Consent of the concerned Gram Sabha is mandatory before diverting any forest land for non-forest purposes.
Violation in this case: The main allegation in the Great Nicobar project is that rights were not recognized, and the consent of the Gram Sabha was not obtained.
Forest Clearance Process:
Under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, the approval of the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is required for using forest land for non-forest purposes.
This is usually granted in two stages:
Stage I (In-principle approval): This is preliminary approval granted with certain conditions.
Stage II (Final approval): Final approval granted after ensuring that all conditions of Stage I have been met.
In this case, compliance with the FRA was a crucial condition for Stage I approval.
Role of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA):
This is the nodal ministry for implementing the FRA.
Contradiction here: On one hand, as the nodal ministry, they are seeking a report from the Andaman administration. On the other hand, in court, they are trying to evade responsibility by stating that implementing the law is not their duty. This indicates administrative irresponsibility.
Federalism in Environmental Governance:
Central ministries are attempting to shift responsibility to the Andaman administration using arguments like "land is a state subject" and "law implementation is the responsibility of the state/union territory."
However, it is the duty of the nodal ministry to oversee and provide guidelines for the implementation of the law..
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