CCG LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER ON DISTURBING DEVELOPMENTS IN LAKSHADWEEP 5th June 2021 https://constitutionalconduct.com/2021/06/05/ccg-letter-to-the-prime-minister-on-disturbing-developments-in-lakshadweep/
Mindful of the intimate and symbiotic bonds between the land, climate, culture and livelihoods of the local population, the Central government has, over the decades, tried to pursue an environmentally sound and people-centric development policy towards the islands through a centrally appointed Administrator
It is clear that each of these draft regulations is part of a larger agenda that is against the ethos and interests of the islands and islanders. Claiming that there has been no development in Lakshadweep for the past seventy years, the LDAR reflects a model of land and tourism development which includes resorts, hotels and beachfronts on the ‘Maldives model’ unmindful of the differences between the two island groups in size, population, number of islands and their spread. Draft provisions that permit “building, engineering, mining, quarrying or other operations in, on, over or under land, the cutting of a hill or any portion thereof or the making of any material change in any building or land or in the use of any building including sub-division of any land” for highways etc. in small islands that barely exceed 3-4 kms in length, constitute a serious threat to the fragile ecosystem of Lakshadweep.
The present Administrator’s various measures, including the introduction of the three new Regulations and the modification of an existing Regulation, seem entirely misconceived, opening the islands to predatory development and threatening to disrupt and displace a peaceful island community and change their lives for the worse. We urge that these measures be withdrawn forthwith, the UT be provided with a full-time, people-sensitive and responsive Administrator,