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Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav assured that the development of a port and airport in the Nicobar Islands would not disturb or displace the Shompen tribe, one of the vulnerable indigenous groups native to the island.
This assurance was offered in response to concerns raised by Rajya Sabha member and Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh.
The development is part of the ₹72,000-crore Great Nicobar Project.
The project aims to:
Counter expansionist actions by China in the region.
Curb the theft of marine resources by Myanmarese poachers.
Bridge infrastructural gaps.
Promote international trade.
Mr. Yadav mentioned that the project site is unlikely to experience an earthquake of the magnitude that hit the region in 2004 for another 400 to 700 years.
The high-powered committee reports related to the project have not been made public because the project is considered of “national importance with strategic and defence dimensions.”
The Environment Minister claimed that consultations were held with the resident tribal councils, specifically through meetings with the Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti, an organization set up by the administration in 1976.
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