The Tribal Reserve on Great Nicobar, and the Shompen and Nicobarese who live on the island
Background
The land question on Great Nicobar, where a large port and township are planned, turns on the island's Tribal Reserve.
Of the 751.070 sq km of Tribal Reserve on the island, 84.10 sq km overlaps the project area.
Of this, 73.07 sq km is to be de-notified and 76.98 sq km re-notified, giving a net addition of 3.912 sq km to the reserve.
The government says no displacement is proposed for the Shompen, numbering about 237, or the Nicobarese, numbering about 1,094.
The only tribal habitations within the project area are at New Chingen and Rajiv Nagar.
Environmental clearance for the project was granted under the EIA Notification, 2006 and the ICRZ Notification, 2019, with 42 compliance conditions.
In plain words
ICRZ Island Coastal Regulation Zone — The regulation that governs construction along the coasts of the Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands.
De-notification Withdrawal of a notification — Removing land from a legally notified category such as a tribal reserve.