Delist Sea Cucumber and Trochus from Wildlife Act: Report

THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS | VOL 35 | ISSUE 16 | 14 OCT 2011

Delist Sea Cucumber and Trochus 

from Wildlife Act: Report 

By Zubair Ahmed

The Committee constituted to holistically address the issue of poaching in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by the MoEF, Govt of India has suggested delisting of species of local livelihood importance like Sea cucumber and Trochus from the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 after due scientific assessment. The report says that the collection of these species could thereafter be allowed based on strict scientific parameters including fixing of quotas, period and season of collection, maturity, reproductive cycles, etc.

The Committee has submitted its report to Government of India which has proposed a three pronged strategy which includes tightening and improving the protection regime for conservation of marine resources, taking care of the livelihoods of local fisher folk, both qualitatively and quantitatively so as to increase their stake in conservation of marine biodiversity, and to open a diplomatic channel with the Government of Myanmar to address the issue of ingress of its illegal fishers (poachers) into the waters and shores of A&N Islands with a view to finding a solution to this problem and stop the illegal practice jointly.

The Islands are very rich in biodiversity, harbouring unique endemic life forms. The marine biodiversity includes marine mammals such as whales, dolphins, dugong; marine turtles; estuarine or salt water crocodile; fishes; prawns and lobsters; corals; sea shells including rare and endangered Trochus species and Giant Clam Shells and numerous other marine life forms including coelenterates and echinoderms etc.

Economically also, many of the above species are highly valuable and some of them such as sea cucumbers, sea-shells, sharks, marine turtles, salt water crocodiles etc. are under severe pressure of over exploitation from illegal foreign fishing boats and poachers. Historically, these species had been exploited by people from neighbouring countries, mainly due to the low protective cover and low priority accorded to conservation of the marine biodiversity in general by the enforcement agencies of the country.

Despite the concerted efforts by various departments and agencies like Wildlife Wing, Coastal Police Stations and Coast Guard, the very availability of rich marine resources attracts foreign poachers to Indian territorial waters. Although, the enforcement agencies routinely apprehend several foreign poachers, it is believed that a large number of them get away undetected. Most of the poachers are habitual offenders and had been in Indian prisons several times. It has been observed that the western part of the Andaman Islands was the most vulnerable to poaching and also that the volume of the poaching has considerably increased over the years inspite of the best efforts by the Administration to contain the problem. Further, it is also believed that the problem of foreign poachers in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands has a long history, and there are a large number of ethnic people of Myanmar origin settled in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. These people are believed to be often conniving with the poachers.

It has been observed that although there was good population of Sea Cucumbers in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, there were contradicting reports of the status of the species as a whole in the country's waters. Therefore, there is need for carrying out detailed scientific study on the population status of Sea Cucumbers. The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), who has the required wherewithal for carrying out such scientific studies, is being requested for undertaking the study. The report of ZSI would be dovetailed with this report, as soon as the same is received from ZSI. A similar study on Trochus niloticus, would also be taken up.

The reduction in forestry operations has reduced the employment opportunities considerably for the local people of islands. It may be added that this sector was one of the biggest local employers for the last five decades. Subsequent ban on certain marine species after their inclusion in the Scheduled lists of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 has also adversely affected the livelihoods of the fishers community in the last decade.

The Committee recommends adoption of a comprehensive strategy with certain measures to be taken up immediately to curb illegal poaching of precious wildlife.

The committee suggests imparting training to the frontline staff for wildlife management, especially in patrolling and protection of marine areas and its biodiversity, including training in SCUBA diving. 

Procurement of specialized tools and skills for the protection of marine wildlife that will strengthen the enforcement efficiency of the staff in effectively controlling marine poaching. 

Enhancing the incentives to the frontline staff and their families to motivate them to be more dedicated and committed towards their duties.

The enforcement machinery comprising Forest, Wildlife, Revenue, Coastal Police departments and the Coast Guard should also be equipped with specialized infrastructural facilities like mechanized boats, communication equipments, etc to quickly and effectively address poaching.

These Departments should also be provided with adequate manpower and sizable budgetary support to improve human, technological and material resources.

Employment opportunities by filling up 200 posts of Forest Watcher which are lying vacant in the Department due to absence of forestry operations.

Improvement in fishing techniques of fishers through capacity building and training in modern methodologies of fishing including the use of sophisticated fishing gear as well as providing them with such gear.

Capacity building and provisions for adoption of alternative livelihoods by fishers.

The total project financial requirement is estimated at Rs 5946.50 lakhs

The progress made in implementation of the programme will be monitored using target achievement indicators, such as the number of officials trained, number of training programmes conducted, number of poachers apprehended, number/quantity/value of items seized, etc.

PAUPER’S LOG: Shanty Town

THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS | VOL 35 | ISSUE 16 | 14 OCT 2011

PAUPER’S LOG      
Shanty Town

By Abu Arsh

Not many need an introduction to Slumdog Millionaire, a movie based on Dharavi slums in Mumbai as a backdrop which fetch us 3 Oscar Awards. Leaving the millionaire aside (as most of us in our lifetime cannot dream of being one), the term Slumdog does arouse our conscious. If the passion it has aroused could be directed towards a mass movement to combat the evils of the slum and to eliminate the slums altogether in stages, that would be an appropriate response to the movie.   We are made to believe in the falsity that there is no poverty in A&N Islands; we have a clean and serene environment. Few of us may argue that there are in excess of 10000 rural Below Poverty Line households in our UT. There is also a sizeable bunch of people who live in Urban hell holes which otherwise can be called slums of A& N Islands. Many of the inhabitants of these shanty localities may not be exactly poor but the conditions they live in are highly repulsive. 

Though the entire Port Blair town has some natural lush green surroundings, it can be said that things here are not planned aesthetically or with a vision for any future expansion. This green cover and open spaces are fast eroding. Our markets are cramped, roads are insufficient, drains are clogged and buildings are stuffed close to each other. That too- with all the rules and regulations governing building construction in place under the watchful eye of the Administration. Amidst all this muck are localities which would give slums anywhere else in India a run for its money. Localities in Haddo, Junglighat, Dairy Farm, Aberdeen, Anarkali, Nayagaon, Bhatubasti, Patharguda, Austinabad, Shorepoint, Bambooflat, Hopetown- to name a few would be a nightmare for planners of urban and suburban/rural areas. These localities are colonies of economic migrants mostly from Andhra, Tamil Nadu and now from Bangladesh too.

These slums are commonly seen as "breeding grounds" for social problems such as alcoholism, high rates of mental illness, and suicide. They exhibit high rates of disease due to unsanitary conditions, malnutrition, and lack of basic health care. They have inadequate access to safe water; inadequate access to sanitation and other infrastructure; poor structural quality of housing; overcrowding; and insecure residential status. These slum dwellers live in very narrow alleys that do not allow vehicles (like ambulances and fire trucks) to pass. The lack of services such as routine garbage collection allows rubbish to accumulate in huge quantities. The lack of infrastructure is caused by the informal nature of settlement and no planning for the poor. Additionally, these settlements often face the brunt of natural and man-made disasters, such as landslides, as well as earthquakes and tropical storms. Fires can be a serious problem. These people have been off the Administrations radar on purpose as of now and only a major mishap will wake them up. 

Many of these slum dwellers employ themselves in skilled-unskilled labour, fishing, domestic work and street vending. In some of these slums people even recycle trash of different kinds (from household garbage to electronics) for a living - selling either the odd usable goods or stripping broken goods for parts or raw materials. These localities add up being an eye sore for tourists who come visiting the islands. Rural depopulation with thousands migrating into Port Blair from outside makes slum clearance an uphill struggle. 

As these slum dwellers have the numbers, they become the cynosure of local politician's eyes. They play an important role especially in the elections for local self governance bodies. They are allowed to spring up unauthorized colonies on govt. land, need no building plans, no setback or follow any bye-laws. Power and water can be made available or is stolen with the blessings of corrupt officials and politicians. A religious building will come up in these slums at important location functioning as a hub. Nomenclature of these slums will bear names of national level leaders of ruling parties. Identity cards and all benefits of various safety net initiatives by the govt. will be delivered at their doorsteps. What more can a Shanty town offer? This is not a matter of wanting to shove reality under the carpet.

Administrator's Advisory Council Meeting: Bagful of Surprises

THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS | VOL 35 | ISSUE 16 | 14 OCT 2011

Administrator's Advisory Council Meeting

Bagful of Surprises

By Staff Reporter

The first meeting of the Administrator's Advisory Council of Andaman and Nicobar Islands was held under the Chairmanship of the Lt. Governor, Bhopinder Singh on 17th of this month.

The three and half hour meeting had deliberations on many relevant issues pertaining to the development of the Islands. However the skirmish between the MP and the Administration once again came to the fore with the MP demanding a proper seat for him as per the protocol.

On land reforms, once again the MP was confronted by P. Prasad, Adhyaksh, Zilla Parishad, Madhyottar Andaman. When the MP raised the issue of Buffer Zone, Prasad said that the Buffer Zone issue is the contribution of the MP and he had raised the issue in Parliament about the Gora Bacha born in the Jarawa tribe. He also blamed Bishnu for the double talk.

The LG informed the gathering that the issue of Land Reforms is under serious consideration and the amended Regulations will be notified very soon.

Speaking to LOA, TSG Bhaskar, President, ACCI said that there are many shortcomings in the Land Regulation. He specifically mentioned about the limit of the SDM for conversion of land. The Chamber of Commerce had suggested that SDM may convert land upto 4000 sq mtrs and beyond that a committee has to approve with the permission of the Administrator. However, Bhaskar informed that the LG has modified the draft and reduced the authority of SDM to upto 500 sq mtrs, which is ridiculous. On the other hand, he informed that LG has arbitrarily approved conversion of large tracts of land belonging to bigwigs like Taj, Soma, Rose Valley and even in Long Island without the approval of the committee. It's harassment for the local businessmen as well as tourism and hotel industry.

The PRI representatives also demanded that the excess and encroached land of tsunami affected farmers and the Pre-78 encroachers need to be regularised.

Mohammed Shafiq, Pramukh, Panchayat Samiti, Ferrargunj suggested a Four-lane Marine Drive connecting Shore Point, Hathi Tapu, Mithakhari and Minnie Bay through seashore. The Lt Governor and Chief Secretary was impressed by the idea and asked the engineering wing of ALHW to inspect the feasibility without further delay. It is learnt that a team of engineers visited the area on Tuesday.

Kuldeep Rai Sharma, President, ANTCC raised the issue of the revised convoy system in which the convoy pilot bikes ply at a speed of 20 kms creating huge delay as well as inconvenience to the passengers. The Lieutenant Governor informed the committee that the convoy was revised and reduced to convince Supreme Court that the Admn is taking steps to regulate traffic on ATR. He also said that ATR cannot be closed, but the traffic on the road need to be regulated to comply with the Supreme Court Order or it will result in closure of ATR.

Sharma also sought the intervention of the Administration in locating alternate quarry site for Brookshabad as the site cannot provide stones for more than a couple of years. He also said that the hillock is damaged irreversibly due to quarrying, which had played a major role in checking the tsunami waters from destroying Port Blair city. The Lieutenant Governor informed that about 15 quarries have been given NOC from Pollution Control Board to operate and he also informed that the price of quarry products will be stabilized very soon. On the demand of Panchayat Samithis for allotment of quarry, the Lieutenant Governor informed that both Panchayat Samitis of Ferrar Gunj and Prothrapore will be allotted quarries as well as 500 sq mtrs of land close to the quarry site for setting up Crusher Units, which will check pollution.

On water supply, LG informed the gathering that the pipelines will be replaced wherever required. Firdosh Bibi, Chairperson, PBMC demanded the Administration to construct a parking space in front of Directorate of Industries between Bengali Club and Goal Ghar.

The Lt. Governor stated that the Administration is focussing on inclusive growth of the islands so that all the three districts of the islands embark on the development path on equal footing. He felt that "Development of the Islands should not be restricted to Port Blair and its vicinity and additional resources would be provided to the North & Middle Andaman and Nicobar District to bring these districts at par with South Andaman." He also laid emphasis on the need for working together by PRIs, Public representatives and Administration so that the islands can march towards faster development.

Besides deliberating on developmental issues, many other important issues pertaining to the land, shipping, education, health, fisheries, transport and tourism were also discussed. He also assured that monthly or quarterly review meetings will be conducted to evaluate the progress of various projects discussed in the meeting.

Apart from the MP, representatives of political parties, PRIs, Tribal Council and Chamber of Commerce, selected NGOs and Civil Society representatives also participated in the meeting.

EDITORIAL: Are We - The People - Fools?

THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS | VOL 35 | ISSUE 16 | 14 OCT 2011


EDITORIAL
Are We - The People - Fools?

The manner in which Congress managed to engineer victory in all local body elections - Zilla Parishads in South Andaman and Madhyottar Andaman - has brought to the fore the need for a potent Anti-Defection Law. Although in both cases, BJP had only synthetic majority, without much fuss, PRIs members changed stables, putting Congress in a very comfortable position.
It seems irrational why elections are fought on party lines, when candidates after winning elections defect without a second thought. Or, the people, who repose faith on this set of politicians and cast their vote for their party irrespective of whoever the candidates are, find themselves cheated and deserted. In fact, if they leave the party, they should have the guts to go back to the electorate and seek fresh mandate. But surprisingly, the electorate too suffers from limited amnesia, forgetting and forgiving every five years.
The Member of Parliament, who won election on a BJP seat is now party-less. Recently, from Campbell Bay to Diglipur, there is a continuous defection of elected PRIs from BJP to Congress and the flow continues unabated. It reminds of the times of Nehchal Singh, who would not give tickets to anyone and ask them to come back victorious to join Congress, a simple ball game.
In fact, in every election, Congress party rebels have been winning elections and they finally land up at the party door once they fight and win elections on their own might.
The sordid state of political parties is to be blamed for this squalor. BJP, which appears to be a paper tiger recently, has been all over the media with four or five press releases daily. In fact, there is a competition inside the party in issuing press statements. When they advised the administration to save face by taking into consideration the demands of a Pradhan before the visit of its leader, Lal Krishna Advani, are they in a just position to explain the status of their party to their leader when he lands here?
Congress need not fight elections anymore. They can run the bodies default with the defectors galore, who join soon after the elections. Why do almost everyone joins Congress? Is there something which is invisible to the naked eye? The defectors might know the reason.
With BJP losing members on a daily basis, what Bishnu Pada Ray once said proves right. Sab Khotam Kar Diya… Party Ko. Is it a sign that Bishnu will be back to lift the party from the predicament it has forced itself into. He still has wellwishers inside the party.

Land Regulations: A Flashback

THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS | VOL 35 | ISSUE 16 | 14 OCT 2011

Land Regulations: A Flashback

Out of a total geographical area of 8249 sq. km. of A&N Islands, 86% belonged to forest department and 14% was revenue land before Tsunami. The revenue land of Andamans district before the bifurcation of the districts was 77, 942.05 hects. and that of Nicobars District was 4530.34 hects.

History of settlement in these islands dates back to 1789 with actual settlement in these islands that started after the first freedom struggle of 1857 under the occupation of British. They used to deport hard core convicts and freedom fighters to these islands. The life was very miserable since the islands were full of snakes, forest, incessant rains making the land marshy and muddy causing deadly diseases like Malaria. Some of the prisoners who chose to settle here were given land, and such allotments were demarcated and the first comprehensive survey was conducted in 1926.

In the past, to regulate the tenure of the land in these islands, a Regulation called the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Land Tenure) Regulation 1926 was enacted and was in vogue from 15th March 1926.  According to this, all the land in the Islands was vested absolutely in 'His Majesty' and saved as provided by under Section 3 of this Regulation. The said Regulation was repealed by another regulation defined as A&N Islands Land Revenue and Land Reforms Regulation, 1966 promulgated by the President of India and rules framed thereunder were A&N Islands LR and LRR, 1968 which came into effect from 1st April 1968.  Under the 1966 and 1968 Regulations, all the land in the islands vests absolutely in the Government. Thus nobody has ownership on the land, but the allottees are tenants of the Government under classified categories namely Non-Occupancy Tenant, Occupancy Tenant, Grantee and Licensee.

The procedure for allotment of land for various purposes under various categories are laid down under the provisions of section 146 of the Regulation read with Rule 170 to 175. House sites and agricultural plots are allotted to the poor and landless persons after obtaining applications from them. In the past, when the land -man ratio of these islands was satisfactory, there was no specific quantum of land fixed for allotment. Earlier the locals and Bengali settlers were given land as per the agreed communication with the parties and the government. But later the situation deteriorated and in 1994-95 the Andaman District made a target for allotment of 2000 house sites for which 35,000 applications were received. What happened to the entire process is still in smokes.

Following the instructions of Government of India the Administration considered regularisation of pre-1978 encroachments on revenue and forest land. 7212 encroachment cases were finalised by issue of licenses to the persons found to be in possession of government revenue land on a date prior to 31-12-1978.

The then Lt. Governor, A&N Islands in Oct 1993 had categorically instructed the Revenue Authorities, "Under no circumstances, encroachments committed after the cut-off date will be encouraged or regularized. I would like to see that all such encroachments are removed and tackled with an iron hand" Who will have this 'Iron Hand' was not clear and as a result since last 10 years more than 5000 encroachments have taken place, many under the nose of obvious authority of the 'Iron Hand'.   

Jugglery of Revenue Records

THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS | VOL 35 | ISSUE 16 | 14 OCT 2011

Jugglery of Revenue Records

By Basudev Dass

After a sincere and honest career in Police Department, Mr. S Prasad, a junior ranked police personnel (now late) on his retirement approached the then Lt Governor for a piece of land for construction of a house. After observation of a spate of formalities he was allotted a piece of 200 sq.m  of land somewhere in Protherapore village. The retired person when visited the spot with the land-license bearing the survey number found the land too sloppy to be of any use as he could have hardly extract 60-70 sq. mtrs. land out of it, else paying a hefty amount as labour cost. He started approaching the revenue authorities for an alternative land and in the course literary exhausted the sole of his old shoes. The honest but stubborn person did not lose hope and faith on the system and finally found an official who promised to help him. Mr. Prasad met the official with his copy of the license he was given against his allotted land of Protherapore.

The official spread the worn and torn sheet of map of the area and started finding the survey number Mr. Prasad's license was carrying. He was successful in his attempt and located the survey number on the map. With a piece of broken blade he scratched the number to make it indecipherable.  He then did the same with another survey number on the map and with a dark lead pencil on the map   he wrote the same survey number the license carried.  The survey number in the license was not changed but now, Mr. Prasad with the same survey number on his license was owner of a genuine piece of house site.

The affair was not put to a halt there. The poor man applied to the District Administration for construction assistance under the Low Income Housing Scheme of Government of India from the District Administration which was managing the fund. An amount was sanctioned and the first installment was also handed over to Mr. Prasad against the License and survey number. The poor person managed some labourers and prepared the land for further construction activity when he was suddenly called by a senior official of the revenue department alongwith the license. Mr. Prasad when reached to the official, he was asked to show the original to which he complied. The official took the original license in pretext of examination of financial assistance extended to him, kept the same in his office drawer directing Mr. Prasad to collect the same after a week.  Without a slightest hesitation, poor Mr. Prasad handed over the license to the official but never to get back the same. Nth number of time he approached the said official and others with no result. And ultimately, he died without owning a roof of his own over his head.

Digitization of Old Records is Not Land Reforms: Sethumadhavan

THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS | VOL 35 | ISSUE 16 | 14 OCT 2011

Digitization of Old Records is Not Land Reforms: Sethumadhavan

Sethumadhavan, a retired Revenue Officer and President of Island Forum for Development, Justice and Protection of Environment, A&N Islands' is a stalwart in revenue matters concerning land rules and regulations. Speaking to LOA, he was surprised by the move of the Administration in setting the land records right in a reverse process, which cannot do any justice. "Any survey without recognizing the boundaries will not have any locus standi," he said.

By Zubair Ahmed

Why do you think that the survey process initiated by the Administration to set the records right will not work?

The first settlement in ANI took place in South Andaman Island. But the persons settled here and their successors do not have proper land records. The law of the land insists to prepare fresh land records every 30 years. The land record presently maintained by the revenue department is prepared in the year 1962. Except some cases, the field boundaries that were surveyed and depicted in the records does not agree with that of the ground due to frequent developments such as construction of road, change in the course of nallahs, dispossession etc. There are accumulated mistakes continuing since 1929. What the Administration is doing is just copying the old records and digitizing it. The records are erratic. The new Regulation came into effect in 1966, about 45 years back. So far no survey stones are planted in the field boundaries as per the specifications laid in the regulations. How can it be possible to prepare land records on the basis of physical possession of each tenant?

The Administration needs to first recognize the boundaries of each plot and plant survey stones on each plot as per the provisions laid in the regulations. Simple digitization of old records cannot be called land reforms. Excess land has to be identified and process initiated to regularize it based on merit.

Why is the situation so worse?

I can recount an incident that happened with me. In Mayabunder, apart from Karen Settlement, there are villages where local convict settlements were created. Pokhadera, Danapur and Rampur are the villages where agricultural land was allotted by Forest Department without any survey. Later, when the villages were transferred as Revenue villages, Forest Department transferred the rent records to Revenue Department. In 1960, when a survey was initiated, it was found that most of the tenants had large tracts of excess land under possession. Persons with 5 acres had 10 acres in possession and they were not even aware about it. The issue was raised in the Chief Commissioner's Advisory Committee. In 1966, while preparing new records, an order was passed to regularize the excess land of the Pre-61 settlers.  Cases were prepared and submitted to Deputy Commissioner's office. In a fire accident in DC office, all case files were destroyed. The issue was kept in abeyance.

In 1978, when the issue of land allotment was raised again, Govt of India issued an order that those without land should be allotted upto 1 ha for agricultural purposes, 350 sq mtr for house site in rural area and 200 sq mtr for house site in urban area. However, the cases of Pre-61 cases remained out of the ambit of this order as all of them possessed land. Their cases once again remained pending.

In 1986, I was the Tehsildar in Mayabunder and the there was indirect pressure from all quarters to include the Pre-61 cases with Pre-78 cases. But, it was not possible as it was an illegal act. These cases could not be considered under the guidelines. If an order was issued by Government of India, the issue could have been settled. But, nobody was interested. It could have been taken up under Section 2-12 of the Regulation. However, the Administration did not do it. I did try to open their eyes towards the pathetic situation. The issue is still pending to date. The records of the villagers do not agree with the ground reality.

The Administration had taken up the issue of regularization of excess land of Pre-42 settlers? What do you think about it?

First of all, Pre-42 settlers are not based in Port Blair only. The whole exercise was eyewash. Only seven villages up to Junglighat were taken up and the selected persons were given fresh licenses. The list of cases of regularization made an interesting reading. There were several cases where the area regularized was in single digit. The smallest area was just two square meters.

These cases were pending ever since the land was allotted to the tenants during the last century. During the first survey conducted in 1961 after independence, over a thousand tenants were found to be in occupation of in excess of their allotment. Ever since, the matter was pending regularization though the land of later migrants were regularized without any fuss.

There are so many Pre-42 settlers in the rural villages. Why is Administration not settling the cases?

Do you think, Survey Settlement Wing under the Deputy Commissioner is capable of carrying out this massive exercise?

The Deputy Commissioner handles more than 20 subjects. It is impossible to carry out such a massive exercise by the Deputy Commissioner. What I suggest is to separate the Survey Settlement Wing from DC and place them under a senior IAS officer who is appointed as Settlement Commissioner for the whole Union Territory of ANI from All India Cadre to control and supervise the Revenue Survey Operation so that the fund allocated to Revenue Survey and Settlement will not be misused.

The Survey Settlement Operation is a continuous process and the staff attached to it such as surveyors, head surveyors, Asst Land Record Officers come under the Settlement Wings of the Revenue Administration and mainly for the construction of land records while the other Revenue staff like Patwari, Revenue Inspector etc are only for maintenance of land records supplied to them during the term of settlement.

The Administration has outsourced the survey and digitization of land records to a private firm.

First of all, the body or firm conducting survey should be a quasi-judiciary body. And, when the land records are in contradiction with the ground reality, how are they going to resurvey. As I said earlier, without recognizing the boundaries, if they survey, those boundaries will not be acceptable. Moreover, if they are just copying the old land records and digitizing it, it does not serve any purpose.

It is learnt that the firm has conducted survey and digitization in Rajasthan. The issue is entirely different here. In Rajasthan, the land is owned by the tenants. In our Island territory, land belongs to the Government. In Rajasthan, there is no issue of contradictory records like we have. The whole exercise is futile.

COVER STORY: Land Reforms: The Unscripted Saga

THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS | VOL 35 | ISSUE 16 | 14 OCT 2011

COVER STORY:

Land Reforms: The Unscripted Saga

Since the British left the Islands, Revenue Department has been trying to set right the anomalies in the land records. Lack of willpower as well as knowledge to rectify the archaic Regulations and Rules has turned the department into a den of corruption.

By Basudev Dass

Seven years have passed after the islands witnessed the dreaded Tsunami. The country in general and the islands in particular exhausted almost all its strength to assist the affected tribal brethren in connection with the reconstruction of A&N Islands. The people in South Andaman are still in a catch-22 situation and the islands' Administration is in a fix whether to compensate the affected farmers and other villagers whose land has been permanently engrossed by sea or to give them land in lieu of their loss! The Revenue Department has no land with them since large portion of land falls under deemed forest and is banned by the Forest Department and the rest have been encroached by encroachers with connivance of the Revenue authorities.

Whether the Revenue authorities have record of its own land encroached or not, the fact remains that if a proper survey is done and all post 1978 encroachment are evicted, the Island Administration will not only be in a position to rehabilitate all the tsunami victims by allotting land but also will be left with surplus land for future use.

The Administration in fact is not sincere in its effort to have its land area surveyed and to prepare proper land records. Having a considerable fleet of human resource, the Administration has outsourced the survey of land work in Ferrargunj Tehsil of South Andaman District to determine the area occupied by each tenant - allottee or encroacher. "This is an impossible task since the occupant may have occupied excess land than that of the allotted area," said Sethumadhavan a retired Revenue Officer and presently the President of Island Forum for Development, Justice and Protection of Environment, A&N Islands.

The boundaries were recognised some 40 years back in rural areas of South Andaman by conducting a survey in accordance with the Notification issued by the A&N Administration at that point of time on the basis of Andaman and Nicobar Island Land Revenue and Land Reforms Regulation 1926. But in respect of urban area (area under PBMC), the Revenue Department of the Islands is still working on the basis of land records prepared by British India Government as per the provisions of A&N Land Tenure Regulation 1926, which has since been repealed after promulgation of A&N Islands LR & Land Reforms Regulation 1966.  Later, the Rule was repealed in 1968. No land records as specified under the new regulation has yet been prepared by giving opportunity to the tenants as required under the section 91 of 1966 Regulation.

On 19th March 1968, the then Chief Commissioner Mr. Mahavir Singh had directed the Revenue Authorities to undertake revenue survey operation in South Andaman, Rangat, Mayabunder and Diglipur Tehsils. The South Andaman Tehsil then had both Port Blair and Ferrargunj Tehsil together.

The process of undertaking the survey and settlement activity is termed as Time of Settlement and once the activity is completed and the result is notified it is defined as Term of Settlement. The Government of India has fixed the Term of Settlement for a period of 30 years. After the expiry of the Term of Settlement the Land Records should be reconstructed every 30 years by carrying out fresh survey and settlement operation.

The people of South Andaman even today fully depend on the old revenue records prepared in Urdu language during the period between 1926 and 1929. The then Lt. Governor Mr. Vakkom Purushotaman in a seminar on "District Revenue Machinery" organised by the  Revenue Department in October 1993 exclaimed, " I am surprised to know that the land records in many parts of Port Blair town area which were finalized in 1929 are still in use and no new records have been prepared till date. These records have become very shabby, defaced, worn out and are in bad shape. Such records also give ample opportunity to the mischief-mongers to manipulate and distort the facts". The situation remains same as on date. It is also worth-mentioning that a 12-point suggestive direction was listed by the Lt. Governor in the seminar to be one "without delay" lead by the  points such as 'Survey and Settlement operations where pending are expedited' and 'computerization of land records to be taken up on a War Footing.' 18 years have since passed and the things are still in a state of disarray.

It is reported that the Administrator's Advisory Council under the chairmanship of the present Lt. Governor in its meeting on 17th of this month had kept on its agenda to discuss the finalization of survey of land record of Port Blair. Reports say that the work will be taken only once the Settlement operation of Ferrargunj Tehsil recently taken up is over. This will require another 4-5 years through outsourcing and by the time the present bureaucratic set up will be transferred back to NCR and the issue will remain pending forever. This dilly-dallying activity is in practice since time immemorial and the worst sufferers are law abiding citizens of the islands who would neither dare to encroach nor involve in any gratification activity.

It is not that the present Chief Executive of the Revenue Department does not exert enough interest in delivering results. In many cases he even has asked explanation from his deputies for non compliance of his directions of not registering a sale deed, non submission of report concerning grant of Bar License to resorts. He could have focused his attention on the basic work of "Survey and Settlement" of Land Records of Port Blair Urban area, which having began in 1967 is still in 'Time of Settlement'!

Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in one of his addresses had expressed, "For a poor person, for a small person, for the weak person, a Land Record is a weapon. It is not just a record, it is not just a piece of paper or not one entry tucked away somewhere in the Tehsil Office, but is a weapon to him. You are giving a weapon in his hands. If he has no weapon, he has no way of fighting the more influential sections of the society………..Therefore, giving him land should also be followed by giving him the right in the shape of a 'Record' ……"