Great Nicobar Island Development Project :: Chinese lobby reportedly 'hires' two Kerala-based journalists for negative reporting

 

An alleged Chinese lobby has reportedly hired two Kerala-based journalists for campaigning against the Great Nicobar project. 

Both are editors of known publications. One is a well read magazine and web o environmental matters, local media reported. 

These to scribes are expected to write and propagate anti-Nicobar project stories and articles. 

These two have a background of engaging in similar projects like Cutting South and Save Lakshadweep.

One of them is understood to have deputed a team to Andaman to cover the issue but alert central government agencu officials "intercepted them" and and directed them to return home, it is said.

The other journalist organised a seminar at Thiruvananthapuram Press club on Nicobar Ecological issues. 

Lately, two of the three gram (village) panchayats in the area earmarked for the ambitious project in the Great Nicobar Island have consented to the development area notification, but highlighted that amenities and utilities being built should benefit locals and that fair compensation should be provided.

Reports also suggest that agencies are keenly observing the moves of these 'urban Naxal elements' as Nicobar project is of great strategic importance considering the Chinese defence threats.  

The gram panchayats actually responded to a letter from the Andaman and Nicobar Administration sent on January 1 that sought views of gram panchayats in Great Nicobar on notification of the project area as ‘Great Nicobar Island Development Area’ for the holistic master plan for Great Nicobar Island, as per the Town and Country Planning Regulation, 1994. 

The gram pradhans of Laxminagar and Govindnagar gave consent to the development area notification according to their responses sent to the administration. 

The Tribal Council of Little Nicobar and Great Nicobar has, however objected to the diversion of certain areas currently reserved for tribals.

Modi and Xi Jinping : 2019 

Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has been gathering testimony from experts, stakeholders and local residents from areas impacted by large development initiatives, according to committee chairperson Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka. 

The panel may submit its report in July.  

The Great Nicobar Island Development Project, a Rs 72,000 crore initiative by NITI Aayog, aims to transform the island into a hub for trade, tourism, and strategic military presence, including an international transshipment terminal, airport, power plant, and township. 

The project aims to boost regional economic growth by positioning Great Nicobar as a key hub in global maritime trade. 

The project has faced criticism from environmentalists and scientists, who raise concerns about the potential environmental impact, including the felling of trees in the rainforest and the impact on endemic species and indigenous tribal groups. 

The project has also raised concerns about the impact on the indigenous Shompen and Nicobarese communities, who reside on the island. 

Strategic Importance:

The project is also seen as having strategic importance for India, with the potential to enhance its presence in the region. 

The Rs 72,000-crore project, which will take up 166 sq km of the island’s 921 sq km area, has four components – an international container transshipment terminal, a power plant, a greenfield international airport and a new township. 

A pre-feasibility report states that the port will put the island on the map of the “east-west shipping route that links East Asian exports with the Indian Ocean, Suez Canal, and Europe”.

The airport will “attract international and national visitors” to “participate in sustainable tourism activity”. 

The project is also seen as one that can make the islands “the first line of offence against any attempt from the East to undermine India’s maritime security”.

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