Former Lakshadweep administrator, two others demand roll back of LDAR 2021

The Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation 2021 (LDAR) will destroy the delicate ecosystem of the coral isles and the life, livelihood of the islanders, three prominent people including former administrator of Lakshadweep Wajahat Habibullah, who also served as Chairman of National Commission for Minorities, have said in a letter submitted to Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Governor Arif Mohammed Khan.

The other signatories include Mohini Giri, former Chairperson of National Commission for Women, and Syeda Hameed, former Member of Planning Commission (in charge of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep). The unique land and its ethnic community structure withstood the vagaries of ocean and weather. The carrying capacity of 22 sqkm area of the inhabited isles would be stretched to their limit by indiscriminate expansion of tourism and various projects proposed under the euphemistic title of ‘planning and development’, they said.

Law and order front

In a nutshell, these projects would destroy the life of the people, the signatories said. “We condemn the move of an individual who holds a position of authority in a politically and geographically sensitive area, since a law and order situation will likely result from the above stated arbitrary and irresponsible moves,” they said.

Studies done by credible ecological institutions had shown that the stability of the coral reefs were maintained by the lifestyle and culture of the communities living in the areas. The island people had found a way to cope with the limitation of land and availability of freshwater. The social fabric was built on the ecosystem-based economy linked to fishing, and anchored in cooperation, tolerance, acceptance and mutual dependence, they said in the letter.

Unilateral, arbitrary policies

The recent policy changes, proposed unilaterally and arbitrarily, had given no consideration to matters like land use, land ownership, ocean-resource utilisation, and livelihood practices of the community. To add insult to injury, the culture and traditions of people who lived there had been violated by intervention into their food ethos (beef ban, opening liquor shops etc). They would also tear apart their traditional methods of decision-making based on democratic decentralisation, the letter by the three personalities said.

The islands needed just governance, access to safe and secure health care, education, food security and livelihood options linked with their eco system, which included rich source of tuna fishes in the surrounding waters. All these needs had been described by eminent ecologist Cecil J. Saldanha’s ‘Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep: An Enviromental Impact Assesment’, which summarised the development plans of the islands drawn up under the guidance of government’s erstwhile Island Development Authority chaired by Prime Ministers from Rajiv Gandhi to A.B. Vajpayee, in which Saldanha was a member.

Review of LDAR 2021

The three signatories requested halting the implementation of LDAR 2021 and other “repressive orders” that were under way. “We further request that after the halt, you ask for an urgent review in consultation with the local bodies. The changes being proposed are stated to be for the ‘welfare of the human community’ that means a thorough consultative process with the said ‘human community’.”

All programmes being planned would need a vision that took into consideration a consultative approach, rather than be imposed from the top, to preserve access to resources, human rights, secularism, democracy and ethnicity of the island community. Timely intervention in these issues would uphold the Preamble to the Constitution of India, they said.

“Given your sensitivity for ecology, we look up to you to set things right in the coral isles where each citizen has equal rights to options of livelihood, nutrition, land use, and all other choices that hold a community together. We have much to learn from this community. Let us be remembered as a generation that preserved the delicate eco system of the coral island, rather than one that presided over its deliberate destruction,” they said in the letter.