Overview

• The Hindu reported a deputy commissioner’s August 18, 2022 certificate asserting that Forest Rights Act claims were identified and settled over 121.87 sq. km of protected forest and 8.8 sq. km of deemed forest.
• The Tribal Council told Minister Jual Oram on July 21 that FRA settlement has not even begun and that it did not give consent for the project.
• Clearance paperwork shows an August 12, 2022 special Gram Sabha resolution consenting to forest diversion and an NOC recorded for the Shompen via AAJVS, which the council says cannot represent the PVTG’s consent.
• Congress MP Jairam Ramesh labeled the plan a “maha ecological disaster” and cited the report as fresh evidence that officials made false claims about FRA compliance.
• The ₹72,000-crore plan would divert about 13,075 hectares for a port, airport, power plant and township, as the Union government maintains due process was followed and the NGT and NCST have flagged procedural and environmental concerns.