A Decade of Uneasy Calm
A DECADE OF UNEASY CALM following acceptance of Sekhar Singh Commission report on A&N Islands The issue has its origin in 1998, when K alpavriksh, a P une based NGO reportedly carried out a study on the indigenous peoples and forests of A ndaman islands which ended in reporting violations in logging activities in L ittle A ndaman I sland by the F orest C orporation. Thereafter the S ociety for A ndaman and N icobar E cology (SANE) a local NGO , K alpavriksh and the B ombay N atural H istory S ociety (BNHS) filed a joint petition with the P ort B lair B ench of the C alcutta H igh C ourt and later approached the H on’ble S upreme C ourt. During the course of hearing, the H on’ble S upreme C ourt extended the case to cover the entire A&N I slands and subsequently P rof S hekhar S ingh of the I ndian I nstitute of P ublic A dministration (IIPA), N ew D elhi was appointed C ommissioner (one man commission) to look into the forests and other allied matters of A&N I sl...