Great Nicobar Island: Residents demand fair compensation for acquisition of land for airport
Residents have expressed concern regarding the loss of livelihoods that the displacement will cause in view of the construction of the airport.
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Residents of the Great Nicobar Island affected by land acquisition for an international airport have demanded a fair compensation package after a social impact assessment report was submitted to the Union territory’s administration in July, The Indian Express reported on Monday.
The international airport is part of the Rs 72,000-crore Great Nicobar project, which also involves the construction of a Rs 35,000-crore trans-shipment port, a power plant, a township and tourism infrastructure spread over more than 160 square kilometres of land.
It was granted final environmental clearance on November 4, 2022. The project will take up 834.6 hectares of land. Of this, nearly 400 hectares is private land and the rest belongs to the government.
Experts and researchers have raised serious concerns about the impact of the project on the environment and the indigenous communities of the island.
A social impact assessment study on the Great Nicobar project was undertaken by the Delhi-based non-governmental organisation Probe Research and Social Development Private Limited, The Indian Express reported. The study reviewed the social effects of infrastructure projects and other development interventions.
The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 mandates a social impact study for projects that require land acquisition.
In June, the non-governmental organisation held a public hearing on a draft social impact assessment study...
