From ATI to Great Nicobar : Development Must Not Leave People Behind

From ATI to Great Nicobar : Development Must Not Leave People Behind

By
Debkumar Bhadra

The NITI Aayog’s proposed Great Nicobar Island Project has once again brought the Andaman and Nicobar Islands into the national spotlight. As more voices join the debate, strong opinions are emerging from different quarters. Many, including the island’s settler population view the mega project as once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as well as for India’s strategic future. At the same time, there are opposing voices that fear irreversible ecological damage is in the offing in one of the most fragile island ecosystems. This article attempts to capture the predicament faced by islanders whose voices seem to be overshadowed by organised and well-connected narratives dominating the discourse.

For a region that has historically struggled with isolation, limited connectivity and fewer avenues of development, the project comprising an international trans-shipment terminal (ICTT), a township, a greenfield international airport and allied infrastructure facilities is seen by many locals as a gateway to better connectivity, employment and economic growth. Interestingly, the strongest voices opposing the project are coming from mainland-based, well-connected individuals and groups who are able to leverage social media platforms to amplify their viewpoints and dominate the narrative. As a result, the voice of the indigenous and local islander’s is reduced to that of a mute spectator in the debate about their own future. 

But before reducing the discussion to a simple development vs environment binary, it is important to remember that the islands have gone through similar moments before. Decisions taken with good intentions have often left ordinary islanders carrying the burden for years afterwards.

The story of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands is full of such difficult transitions.

Lessons from ATI: When Policy Ignored People

One of the biggest examples was the complete shutdown of all wood-based industries, leading to the disappearance of employment avenues associated with them.

For decades, factories like Andaman Timber Industries (ATI) at Bambooflat, Wimco at Haddo, Jayshree Timber Products (JTP) at Bakultala and Kitply at Long Island employed thousands across the islands. Entire local economies, including workers, transporters, small shopkeepers and daily wage earners all directly or indirectly relied on these industries for their survival. Then came the restriction on felling of naturally grown trees following the Supreme Court's judgement in T. N. Godavarman Tirumalpad Vs Union of India. No doubt the intention behind the judgment was to protect the island's ecologically sensitive environment.

But while the forests received protection, the islanders dependent on these industries were rendered jobless at the stroke of the pen.

M/S ATI Ltd, after going through spells of lockdown, finally shut operations permanently in October 2000. The remaining wood-based industries also followed the same path, rendering thousands of its workers jobless. There was no attempt at retraining the workforce elsewhere, nor was there any plan for the rehabilitation of affected families.

Consequently, many islanders spent years waiting for retirement dues and the meagre compensation. Cases moved from one office to another, from administrative forums to the highest court of the land. Yet for many families, relief either came too late or never came at all. Several workers did not live long enough to receive what they were owed.

What hurt most was not just the loss of employment, but the feeling among islanders that they had been completely forgotten during a policy shift.

Tsunami Aftermath and the Struggles of Island Farmers

A similar disconnect became visible in the aftermath of 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.

The tsunami permanently changed the geography of the islands. Vast tracts of landholdings, including agricultural land belonging to settlers and island farmers were permanently submerged due to land subsidence. Many families lost homes, farmland and their livelihoods overnight. What followed was years of uncertainty and frustration.

Compensation paid to families whose land had been submerged was linked to surrendering their landholdings. Many felt this defeated the very purpose of relief. Islanders expected a helping hand to rebuild their lives, not a condition attached to compensation that forced them to make difficult choices at a time when they were already vulnerable.

Some resisted. Others eventually accepted the offer because they lacked the resources or the strength to pursue the matter any further. But the feeling of injustice never truly went away.

Both these episodes point to the same larger problem: gap between policy intentions and the realities islanders experience on the ground.

That is why the present debate surrounding the Great Nicobar project needs to be viewed carefully and in a much larger context.

Changing Geopolitics and the Strategic Importance of Andaman and Nicobar Islands

The world and regional geopolitical dynamics are changing rapidly. Recent tensions involving Iran and the resulting blockade of the Strait of Hormuz showed how vulnerable global supply chains could become. Within weeks, the effects of friction in a distant part of the world were felt across countries in the form of large-scale disruption in shipping and air connectivity, shortages in fuel supply and wider economic instability.

The lesson is clear. Nothing remains local anymore. Events unfolding thousands of kilometres away can directly affect economies, trade routes and national security interests elsewhere. India cannot afford to ignore these realities.

The Andaman & Nicobar Islands occupy one of the most strategically important locations in the Indian Ocean Region. Positioned close to major international shipping routes passing through the Strait of Malacca, the islands give India enormous strategic leverage in the Indo-Pacific region.

This is why the Great Nicobar project, proposed under the vision of NITI Aayog, cannot be viewed only through the narrow lens of development versus environment. What was witnessed in West Asia could become a template for future geopolitical confrontations. If India fails to prepare itself for such eventualities, it risks exposing its own economic and strategic vulnerabilities during times of crisis. Viewed from that perspective, the Great Nicobar project assumes significance beyond the islands. It becomes part of a larger national strategic vision, economic growth and military foothold.

Balancing Development, Environment and People

Strategic importance, however, cannot justify overlooking environmental concerns or the interests of islanders who have lived in these islands for generations. Great Nicobar itself has been part of the government's planned rehabilitation scheme under which families, including refugees and ex-servicemen brought from mainland India, were settled to achieve civililan presence in this remote region.

Several groups have raised valid concerns about biodiversity loss and long-term impact on the tribes living in the forests of the ecologically sensitive region. These concerns deserve serious attention, not dismissal.

Similarly, the experiences of M/S ATI Ltd workers and tsunami-affected farmers remind us that people often pay the price when policies are implemented without adequate safeguards.

The real challenge, therefore, is not choosing between development and environment, but ensuring development happens responsibly and humanely without making islanders feel excluded from decisions that directly affect their future.

Great Nicobar Project : Avoiding Mistakes of the Past

Compensation mechanisms must be fair, transparent and legally enforceable. Rehabilitation cannot remain a vague promise. Those directly or indirectly affected should have access to long-term livelihood and economic rehabilitation. Environmental impact assessments must remain transparent and open to public scrutiny. Most importantly, local communities should be treated as stakeholders in the process, not as obstacles to it.

Development becomes sustainable only when it carries people along with it.

The Andaman & Nicobar Islands have already seen how decisions taken decades ago continue to affect ordinary islanders even today. Governments change, policies change and public attention shifts elsewhere, but the consequences remain with the people who live through these transitions. The closure of the likes of M/S ATI Ltd and the struggles of tsunami affected families should not remain as a forgotten chapter in teh islands' history. They are reminders that policy decisions cannot be judged by intentions alone, but by how they shape peoples' lives over time.

Development cannot come at the cost of people, just as environmental protection cannot ignore livelihoods. The real challenge, therefore, is not choosing one over the other, but ensuring that national interest, protection of environment and the dignity of islanders move forward together.

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