By Chiranjib Haldar
When as tourists we disembark from a flight at the Agatti airstrip or from a cruise at Kavaratti, we hardly realise the quandary of an archipelago. Lakshadweep faces the peril of an impending infrastructure behemoth. India and Japan have recently agreed to transform Lakshadweep and Andaman-Nicobar into ‘smart islands’ bolstering their shared commitment to port digitisation and maritime security. Unlike Great Nicobar, which is in the limelight owing to its primeval rainforests and de-reservation of tribal land, Lakshadweep was largely removed from the psyche of mainland India till Prime Minister Modi’s visit in 2024 and the Maldives imbroglio. Though not on the current radar, this vibrant archipelago off India’s Southern coast has been imperilled by heating seas and a string of tourism projects. Despite language being a friction point and Kerala High Court’s stay on replacing Mahal and Arabic under the three language formula, at 97.3 percent the idyllic islands rank second in literacy rates according to the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey.
In this economy versus ecology debate, the tourism cleft stick has upset the locals of Lakshadweep. While projects are being envisioned to provide a glimpse of the islands’ lagoons up close, their impact on corals, water and fishermen remains a huge concern. A Supreme Court-appointed committee headed by former judge R.V. Raveendran, in 2014 had recommended that the No-Development Zone (NDZ) be a uniform 20 metre area from the high tide line along the coast. The remaining landmass would be developed according to the Integrated Island Management Plan. Considering the fragile ecosystem, the report also stressed that all development plans should be implemented in tandem with elected self-governing bodies. In 2021, the Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation allowed change in land ownership to facilitate infrastructure boost and tourism.
Lakshadweep has experienced coral mass mortality induced by catastrophic climate changes, straining the accretion and buffer capacity of the reefs. In plain terms, the reefs are eroding more than they are growing. But more than the ecological damage is the human cost of these proposed water villas and lagoon leases to corporations. So, when we put up at a water villa or sea resort and savour the islander’s wholesome delicacy, kilanji the impact of a 42 percent passenger fare hike on ships connecting the mainland does not strike us.
By dismantling customary resource use patterns, especially around uninhabited atolls, now earmarked for tourism projects, biodiversity and human welfare goes for a toss. In the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Earth Sciences, Jitendra Singh recently harped on the bleaching of corals severely impacting the islands of Lakshadweep. During the Covid pandemic, islanders were united to protest against Administrator Praful Patel’s unilateral infra plans and local BJP politicians had resigned en masse with various civil society groups supporting them. Home Minister Amit Shah had assured that all decisions would be taken after consulting the islands’ residents and local bodies. As administrator of the Union territory, special powers to remove or relocate islanders from their property, ostensibly for development projects may be a case of institutional land grabbing by default. This implies that tourism projects considered as development grants the government unbridled powers to exploit the archipelago as it wishes.
As the tourism juggernaut moves to Lakshadweep, locals could be paying the price. The Lakshadweep tent city project disrupts the ecological sensitivity of some uninhabited islands in the archipelago. Critics caution that unscientific activities violating the coastal regulatory zones could harm the fragile environment. The project is also threatening livelihoods of local fisher folk who depend on waters surrounding the islands. While an administrative notice states that all accreted land or land gained from sea in the island chain, is government property; for centuries, landmass adjacent to low-tide and high-tide lines, has been used by local fishermen. Coastal notifications include provisions to protect the littoral environment and the indigenous livelihoods of fishermen. It also regulates any industrial and construction activities along the coastline. Land designated for tourism projects is being acquired under the Lakshadweep Minicoy and Amindivi Islands Land Revenue and Tenancy Regulation, 1965 where natives are being evicted under the claim that the land is accreted. Due to unique land holding patterns, most locals do not have valid land documents for ages.
The islanders allege that the administration was going against the Niti Ayog report on the holistic development of tourism in the five main islands of Kavaratti, Minicoy, Androth, Kalpeni and Agatti. There even exists a Kerala High Court order that directs the Lakshadweep administration to ensure that constitutional guarantees assured to islanders are made available to them. According to Article 240 of the Constitution, the President may make regulations for peace, progress and good administration of the Union Territory. Sensing that the proposed land grab of scheduled tribe natives contravenes the above article, the affected islanders have individually filed class action suits against the Lakshadweep administration.
Most Lakshadweep residents are descendants of migrants from the Malabar Coast of southwest India who arrived before the 7th century and later converted to Islam. Although Islam is the predominant religion, elements of the original Hindu migrants’ social structure, including a matrilineal kinship system and social caste groups remain. The National Human Rights Commission has also issued notices to the Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and the Administrator of the Union Territory regarding the transposition of around 50,000 locals living across various islands. Local petitioners allege that land allocated by the Malabar Collector to islanders during the British period between 1865 and 1930 is proposed to be reclaimed. As the administration and islanders await further clarity on the contentious issue, the broader implications for land rights, compensation and the socio-economic fabric of Lakshadweep hang in the balance.But the moot question that crops up and remains unanswered is, do you have enough water in the islands to afford a tourist influx and support the local population? India’s only coral atoll system has three distinct parts: the open ocean outside the reef, the lagoon and the land itself. The aquifer in Lakshadweep is formed by a unique process. Rainwater seeps into coral sand, creating a freshwater layer that floats atop the dense saltwater underground. This freshwater layer is crucial for sustaining life on the islands. Excessive pumping reduces the depth of the freshwater aquifer and causes saltwater from sea to mix with freshwater. The depletion could be terrible as tourist inflow and local population increase. Pollution from diesel power plants, the only major source of electricity in the islands, also pollutes freshwater. Desalination plants on every island are the only respite for the islanders. With this kind of freshwater scarcity, one shudders at the prospect of converting Lakshadweep to Maldives.
(The writer is a commentator on politics and society.)