What Happened
- Inequities have emerged between ex-servicemen settler families and the original indigenous islanders (Nicobarese and Shompen) over land compensation for the Great Nicobar mega-infrastructure project.
- The Government of India must acquire over 400 hectares of private land for the airport component alone, displacing approximately 234 families from Shastri Nagar and Gandhi Nagar villages.
- Settler families — ex-servicemen given land grants under government schemes — complain they have received no clear information about compensation frameworks, acquisition extent, or rehabilitation plans.
- In January 2026, tribal council chiefs alleged they were pressured to sign certificates surrendering their ancestral land on the island's west coast during a meeting on January 7, 2026.
- The article highlights a structural inequity: settler families (with legal land documents) can access LARR Act 2013 compensation mechanisms, but indigenous tribal communities (with customary/ancestral claims and little formal documentation) face greater legal vulnerability.
Static Topic Bridges
Great Nicobar Island Development Project
The Great Nicobar Island Development Project, being executed by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO), proposes a total outlay of ₹81,000 crore (revised from ₹75,000 crore in 2022). It envisions transforming the island's southern tip into an international container transshipment terminal, a dual-use civil-military airport, a township for up to 650,000 people, and a power plant. The project leverages Great Nicobar's location — just 90 nautical miles from the Malacca Strait — for strategic maritime positioning. It received environment clearance in 2022, and the NGT dismissed a challenge to it in 2024.
- Total project cost: ₹81,000 crore (as of 2025 revision)
- Implementing agency: ANIIDCO (Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation)
- Location: Southern tip of Great Nicobar Island, Andaman & Nicobar archipelago
- Distance from Malacca Strait: ~90 nautical miles — critical for Indo-Pacific maritime strategy
- Land requirement: ~130 sq km of forest and coastal land; ~400 hectares of private land for airport alone
- Environment clearance granted: 2022 (challenged in NGT, dismissed 2024)
Connection to this news: The land acquisition and compensation dispute flows directly from this project's scale — it requires displacing both settler families (with documented land rights) and tribal communities (with customary/ancestral rights that remain unmapped).
The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Act, 2013 (LARR Act)
The LARR Act 2013 (replacing the Land Acquisition Act of 1894) establishes the framework for compulsory acquisition of land. Key features: Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is mandatory; consent of 70% of affected families required for PPP projects and 80% for private projects; fair compensation = 2× market value in urban areas, 4× market value in rural areas; rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) entitlements include housing, livelihoods, and annuities. However, exemptions exist for central government projects (including defence) which can bypass the consent clause.
- Full name: Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013
- Replaced: Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (colonial era)
- Compensation: 2× market value (urban), 4× market value (rural areas)
- Consent requirement: 70% (PPP), 80% (private companies) — waived for central government projects
- SIA (Social Impact Assessment): mandatory, must assess impacts on all affected groups
- For Great Nicobar: SIA was limited to airport only, excluded tribal communities from assessment entirely
Connection to this news: Settler families are demanding compensation based on LARR Act norms (market value + trees' productive value). The fact that the SIA omits tribal communities from its scope is a direct violation of the Act's mandate, exposing a two-tier justice system within the same project.
Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) and the Shompen
India designates 75 communities as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) — the most marginalised among Scheduled Tribes, characterised by pre-agricultural technology, stagnant or declining population, extremely low literacy, and subsistence-level economies. The Shompen of Great Nicobar are a PVTG — numbering approximately 300 individuals, they are among the last largely uncontacted peoples in India. The Forest Rights Act 2006 grants tribal communities rights over forest lands they have traditionally occupied, including community forest resource rights. The Shompen have not been consulted on the project despite FRA mandates.
- PVTGs: 75 communities across 18 states/UTs (designated by MoTA)
- Shompen population: ~300 individuals; Great Nicobar Island is their only known habitat
- Forest Rights Act, 2006: recognises individual and community rights of forest-dwelling tribals; Section 5 empowers them to protect and manage forests
- PESA (Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996: grants tribal Gram Sabhas authority over land management and natural resources in Schedule V areas
- The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are Union Territory — tribal protections under A&N Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation, 1956 also apply
Connection to this news: The Shompen's invisibility in the SIA and the alleged coercion of tribal councils to surrender land in January 2026 represent a direct violation of both the Forest Rights Act and the spirit of PVTG protection frameworks.
Settler Communities in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The islands received ex-servicemen settlers and mainland migrants from the 1950s onward under government resettlement schemes. These settler families were allotted land in designated villages such as Shastri Nagar and Gandhi Nagar on Great Nicobar. Unlike the tribal communities (who hold ancestral/customary rights under FRA), settlers possess formal land documents, making them more legally equipped to invoke LARR Act provisions. However, this creates a layered inequity: settler compensation claims are formally cognisable, while tribal land rights — not mapped or formally documented — remain vulnerable to administrative bypass.
- Settler land in Gandhi Nagar and Shastri Nagar: marked for acquisition under the airport sub-project
- Settler demand: ₹3.5 lakh per coconut tree (productive life 70-100 years); market-value-based land compensation; alternate land + livelihood guarantee
- ~234 families face displacement from airport land acquisition alone
- Indigenous Nicobarese: settled inhabitants with customary land tenure; not classified as PVTGs but as Scheduled Tribes
Connection to this news: The article's "undemocratic politics" framing captures this dual injustice — settler families have legal standing but inadequate information and no concrete R&R plan; indigenous communities have de facto rights but no formal standing in the government's own SIA.
Key Facts & Data
- Great Nicobar Island: southernmost island of the Andaman & Nicobar archipelago; area ~910 sq km
- Distance from Port Blair: ~300 km south; from Malacca Strait: ~90 nautical miles
- Project cost: ₹81,000 crore; implementing agency: ANIIDCO
- Land for acquisition (airport alone): 400+ hectares; ~234 families to be displaced
- Shompen population: ~300 (PVTG); Nicobarese: several thousand (ST)
- January 7, 2026: alleged pressure on tribal council chiefs to sign land surrender certificates
- LARR Act 2013: replaces 1894 Act; compensation = 4× market value in rural areas
- Forest Rights Act 2006: tribal rights over forest land; Section 5: community protection powers
- SIA for Great Nicobar: covered only airport component; tribal communities excluded from scope