NEW DELHI: In a serious case concerning the alleged illegal diversion of 2,000 hectares of forest land in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for non-forestry purposes, the Eastern Zone Bench of the National Green T ribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the Nicobar administration.
The notice addresses the unlawful diversion and allocation of protected forest land for non-forestry purposes, which occurred without prior approval from the Centre, as required under Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, also known as Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980.
Additionally, the tribunal has issued a stay order against the Deputy Commissioner’s(DC) directive to take police action against the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the Nicobar Division, who first flagged the alleged illegal diversion of forest land.
A bench comprising Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi (Judicial Member) and Ishwar Singh (Expert Member) issued the notice in response to a plea filed by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, which highlighted the diversion and allocation of protected forest land in Nicobar for non-forestry purposes without the necessary prior approval from the Centre.
According to available records, over 2,000 hectares of protected forest in Nicobar district have been diverted in recent years for the construction of Rainfed Ponds under the Mission Amrit Sarovar Scheme at various locations throughout the district.
The issue of forest land diversion was first raised by the DFO in a letter dated June 10, 2025, to the Executive Engineer of the Andaman Public Works Department in Kamorta, regarding the proposed construction of Rainfed Ponds.
Following the communication, the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands sent a letter to the Inspector General of Forests (Forest Conservation) with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), seeking clarification on the applicability of the Forest Conservation Act. The MoEF&CC requested further details to thoroughly examine the matter and determine appropriate action.
0ver 2k hectares of protected forest diverted
According to available records, over 2,000 hectares of protected forest in Nicobar district have been diverted in recent years for the construction of Rainfed Ponds under the Mission Amrit Sarovar Scheme at various locations throughout the district. The issue of forest land diversion was first raised by the DFO in a letter dated June 10, 2025.