MEFCC should review all clearances given for diversion of 130.75 sq. km of unique tropical forest land in Great Nicobar Islands for a Mega Infra Project

In view of the judgement delivered by the Hon’ble Supreme Court on May 15th, 2025 in the Godavarman case, MEFCC should review all clearances given for diversion of 130.75 sq. km of unique tropical forest land in Great Nicobar Islands for a Mega Infra Project

To
Shri Tanmay Kumar
Secretary
Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC), Govt of India

Shri Sushil Kumar Awasthi
Director General of Forests & Special Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC), Govt of India

Dear S/Shri Tanmay Kumar & Awasthi,

I refer to a recent judgement delivered by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the ongoing Godavarman case on May 15, 2025, the operative portions of which referring to restoration of forest lands in the States are as follows:

“(v) We further direct the Chief Secretaries of all the States and the Administrators of all the Union Territories to constitute Special Investigation Teams for the purpose of examining as to whether any of the reserved Forest Land in the possession of the Revenue Department has been allotted to any private individuals/institutions for any purpose other than the forestry purpose; 

(vi) The State Governments and the Union Territories are also directed to take steps to take back the possession of the land from the persons/institutions in possession of such lands and handover the same to the Forest Department. In case, it is found that taking back the possession of the land would not be in the larger public interest, the State Governments/Union Territories should recover the cost of the said land from the persons/institutions to whom they were allotted and use the said amount for the purpose of development of forests; and 

(vii) We further direct the Chief Secretaries of all the States and the Administrators of all the Union Territories to constitute Special Teams to ensure that all such transfers take place within a period of one year from today. Needless to state that hereinafter such land should be used only for the purpose of afforestation”

While the Hon’ble Supreme Court has time and again advised your Ministry and the States not to divert forest lands for non-forestry purposes, unfortunately, the concerned authorities have remained lax in preventing such diversion, as a result of private business interests in nexus with political parties prevailing over what is desirable from the public interest point of view. The State which is expected to play the role of a public trustee in respect of such forest lands has often infringed that concept. 

During the last 15 years, according to the information provided by your Ministry to the Parliament, the concerned regulatory authorities of your Ministry have allowed more 3,00,000 hectares of forest lands to be diverted for projects, evidently without exercising due diligence (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/over-3-lakh-hectares-of-forest-land-diverted-under-forest-conservation-act-in-15-years-govt/articleshow/102507083.cms)

While your Ministry has now the obligation to enforce the above order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, I wish to refer to one particular egregious case of diversion of a vast stretch of 130.75 square km of highly valuable tropical forests for setting up a large Mega Infrastructure project in Great Nicobar Islands.

In this connection, I refer to the three letters on the subject addressed by me to the President of India (copies marked to MEFCC) during the last few years to intervene in order to prevent diversion of such forest lands in violation of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956 and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Tribal Councils) Regulation, 1994, in addition to such diversion of forest land violating the letter and the spirit of the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s judgement in the Godavarman case (https://countercurrents.org/2024/06/open-letter-to-the-president-of-india-who-will-stand-up-for-229-shompens-pvtg-and-27168-nicobarese-tribals-in-great-nicobar-island-whose-interests-stand-ignored-by-a-mega-infra-project/ & https://countercurrents.org/2023/01/mega-infrastructure-project-in-great-nicobar-island-would-be-violative-of-the-constitutional-mandate-and-adversely-impact-the-lives-of-the-local-tribals/ & https://countercurrents.org/2023/04/mega-infrastructure-project-in-great-nicobar-island-need-to-consult-the-shompens-and-nicobarese/)

Instead of respecting the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the Godavarman case, MEFCC went out of the way, in a highly opportunistic manner, to agree to such an egregious proposal to divert tropical forest land in the Greater Nicobar Islands, summarily ignoring the huge adverse impact it will have on the habitant and the lives of the local tribals, on the fallacious ground that an alternate proposal to raise new forests in the far-off Aravalli region of Haryana would provide adequate compensation in terms of the Godavarman judgement, knowing well that the Haryana government had already yielded to real estate pressure and started permitting the destruction of the Aravalli forests on a large scale. 

My article on the above may be accessed at (https://countercurrents.org/2023/11/tropical-forests-in-greater-nicobar-islands-to-aravalli-forests-in-haryana-the-green-connection-between-politicians-and-their-corporate-allies/)

I also refer to my letter of September 15th, 2024 addressed to your predecessor pointing out that compensatory afforestation more than 2000 miles away in Haryana in exchange for destroying tropical forests in Great Nicobar Islands would amnount to committing contempt of the apex court’s Godavarman judgement (https://countercurrents.org/2024/09/diversion-of-aravalli-land-in-haryana-for-mining-despite-their-reservation-for-compensatory-afforestation-towards-denotification-of-tropical-forest-in-greater-nicobar-island-amnounts-to-committing-co/)

Now that the Hon’ble Supreme Court has ordered revocation of all previous orders approving diversion of forest lands and ordered the restoration of the same to the concerned forest authorities, considering that such diversion of forest lands in Great Nicobar Islands would irrevocably hurt the interests of the local tribals and considering that the balance of advantage in favour of the public interest lies in favour of conserving the entire stretch of 130.75 sq. km forest land, the major portion of which forms part of a statutorily notified “Tribal Reserve”, I would demand that MEFCC takes the following action forthwith:

1. Revoke the Stage I forest clearance issued by MEFCC on October 27th, 2022 for diversion of 130.75 sq. km forest land for the Mega InfraProject in Great Nicobar Islands
2. Revoke the Environment Clearance issued for the Mega Infra Project in Great Nicobar Islands on November 4th, 2022, as it is linked to the forest clearance
3. Revoke all other clearances linked to the above cited forest clearance for the Mega Infra Project
4. In the past, MEFCC and A&N administration have permitted diversion of forest lands for several other projects andactivities. MEFCC should subject all such clearances to scrutiny by a special investigation team as ordered by the Hon’ble Supreme Court and, based on the outcome of such investigation, revoke those clearances in order to protect the disappearing tropical forests of A&N Islands to the maximum extent feasible

In my view, MEFCC should act urgently, as otherwise the preparatory action that has been initiated and is going on at a break-neck speed for grounding the Mega Infra Project is likely to preempt enforcement of the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s judgement referred above.

In addition, considering that during the last 15 years, more than 3,00,000 hectares of forest lands, including dense forest lands, have been allowed by MEFCC to be diverted for mining and other projects, often in far excess of what was normatively needed, MEFCC should ask the States To set up independent SITs identify all such forest lands and restore the same to the State forest departments for conservation, as ordered by the Hon’ble Supreme Court. 

In future, MEFCC should exercise utmost caution in agreeing to diversion of forest lands for non-forestry purposes. MEFCC should bear in mind that raising new forests is not an easy proposition nor should it agree to proposals routinely made by the States offering alternate lands for compensatory afforestation, as most of such lands may already have existing forests or may be unfit for raising forests worth their name.

An objective social-cost social-benefit evaluation of each case of diversion of forest land for a project would surely show that the net social benefit lies in favour of conservation of the forest land.

Kindly bear in mind that the primary obligation of MEFCC is to respect the letter and the spirit of Article 48A of the Constitution to conserve and improve the environment, not to promote business interests at the cost of the environment.

Regards,

Yours sincerely,

E A S Sarma

Former Secretary to the Government of India

Visakhapatnam