Overview

• The Lakshadweep Revenue Department issued a July 11 notification invoking the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Act, 2013, to transfer Bitra Island to defence and strategic agencies.
• A Social Impact Assessment led by the SIA and Consent Society will survey the island and consult all stakeholders, including gram sabhas, without requiring their consent.
• About 105 families—nearly 350 people—who depend on fishing and coconut cultivation fear displacement and loss of traditional livelihoods.
• MP Hamdullah Sayeed and local community leaders have vowed to mount political and judicial challenges against the acquisition.
• Critics warn the move forms part of a broader defence infrastructure push in the ecologically sensitive archipelago and raises transparency and environmental concerns.