JOIN USFocus on the Andaman islanders rather than tourists
The Andaman Nicobar Islands are unique in that they are probably the only land mass on Indian territory occupied by human communities and yet covered with 80-90 per cent of forests.
While the Niti Aayog plans to clear these forests to make way for luxury tourism, we need to ask who the development is being carried out for.
The transformation promised is a booming city like Singapore or Hong Kong while the reality is that a wave of destruction will be unleashed on the island, to benefit people who don’t live there. To me, I see an anecdotal King Kong arriving in the Islands.
In my opinion, there is a need to focus on the islanders first, rather than the tourists.
During a discussion on the issue of bringing tourism to the islands, one of my Nicobarese friends commented, “I am curious to see what tourists look like. Even though most people tell us to beware of problems associated with tourism, who are these tourists for whom so much money is to be spent? Why can’t the government spend that for developing infrastructure for us?”
Development for whom?
The nebulous development strategy advocated by the Niti Aayog has engendered a range of opinions, in addition to curiosity.
The islanders have genuine desires for development on par with the rest of the country.
Currently, all the islands mostly use diesel to generate electricity. Making a switch to solar and other renewable sources is on the anvil, but the pace is slow, the possibilities limited and the methods expensive.
Despite being surrounded by sea, islanders want road infrastructure, as it is more dependable across all weather conditions.
freshwater part of the creek. Photo by Manish Chandi
There are a glut of tourist taxis in the overcrowded and narrow bumpy roads of Port Blair, but beyond this bustling capital city, the transport infrastructure remains poor and expensive.
Even the medical facilities, shipping infrastructure and food supply chain are all in a poor state, inadequate to meet the burgeoning demand of the population.
One large governmental hospital, under which smaller hospitals function across the archipelago, are unable to serve the medical needs of most islanders living in Port Blair and towns spread across both archipelagos.
The fact is that the basic infrastructure that tourism needs is simply not present in the islands.
Mainland sensibilities
Plans to convert evergreen forests into golf courses and resorts and developing roads along the coast all stem from mainland sensibilities.
There has been a similar problem in other tourism centres in the Andaman Islands, which have failed miserably in trying to provide facilities based on models from the mainland.
On Little Andaman Island, the Onge, the indigenous tribal islanders of Little Andaman, are seemingly viewed as a liability. Rather than capitalising on perspectives the Onges may have to offer visitors to their island, clauses for their removal and relocation have been written out.
Such misadventures have happened before. A timber plantation in the 1960s made way for a multicultural settlement that smothered the indigenous population.
A red oil palm plantation which replaced several hundred hectares of forest has been the single most unsuccessful commercial venture in the history of the archipelago.
Yet, the administration and Niti Aayog have seemingly not learnt from the past.
Iconic species
The island could be a fantastic example of restoration and eco-tourism, yet the government seems to have gone the other way, de-notifying the tribal reserve area and venturing into the breeding habitats of the saltwater crocodiles and the leatherback turtles, two iconic wildlife species present here.
The Niti Aayog plan contradicts the National Marine Turtle Conservation Plan, as well as the Human Crocodile Conflict Management Plan of the Union Territory. It will create more problems than solutions.
Nature in its pristine form is a huge asset and the Little Andaman island is truly a beautiful place. But the vision to capitalise on this beauty is childish, and involves replacing the mangrove creeks, crocodile breeding swamps, freshwater streams, rocky reef flats and beaches that support a plethora of wildlife with spas, restaurants and dance floors.
(The author is a human ecologist and anthropologist. Views are personal)