Bharat Rakshak

Information uploaded on the Union environment ministry’s Parivesh website suggests that multiple infrastructure projects are being considered by an expert appraisal committee (EAC) and a coastal regulation zone (CRZ) committee.

A slew of infrastructure projects have been proposed in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to give a major boost to tourism and business there, according to information released by the central government. While these will transform the islands substantially, experts are worried that this would cause loss of biodiversity and have a negative impact on the indigenous people in the ecologically sensitive islands.

Information uploaded on the Union environment ministry’s Parivesh website suggests that multiple infrastructure projects are being considered by an expert appraisal committee (EAC) and a coastal regulation zone (CRZ) committee. Some of these projects include luxury tents and resorts on some islands; two water aerodrome projects in Shaheed and Swaraj islands (formerly Neil and Havelock islands, respectively); two major township and area development projects on the Great Nicobar Island and Little Andaman, one of which is also likely to involve denotification of a tribal reserve.
All of this will involve massive land use change in the islands. On May 28, the CRZ committee considered an application by Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO) to waive off a condition under the CRZ clearance granted to them for developing luxury tents in Aves Island on a public-private partnership mode. One of the CRZ conditions was that all large, medium, and small trees will be counted and geo-referenced and not felled. But now ANIIDCO is seeking an amendment to this clause so that trees may be felled if required.


“As a chairman of the committee, I cannot comment on what was discussed or what amendments are being made to the conditions,” said Deepak Apte, chairman of EAC on CRZ.

Documents show that the Andaman and Nicobar Coastal Zone Management Authority (ANCZMA) has recommended that the condition be waived off. “ANCZMA is retracting its mandatory precaution by claiming that environment impact assessments do not include ‘tree canopy issues’. Review of proposals under CRZ notification requires scientific rigour and legal basis. They cannot be turned into regulatory convenience resulting in the abdication of responsibility, as has happened in the present case,” said Kanchi Kohli, legal researcher, Centre for Policy Research, a think tank.

On Friday, the EAC on infrastructure projects also considered the development of a water aerodrome at Shaheed Island by the Airports Authority of India. Documents available on Parivesh say that a mangrove patch is present 0.9 km to the west of the project site. Only last month, the EAC had raised several concerns about the ecological impact of constructing a water aerodrome at Swaraj Island that would have resulted in the loss of 3,500 square metres of forest land transferred to ANIIDCO. The environment impact assessment report says that the site for the construction of the terminal building (1,568.9 sqm) and associated infrastructure (453.3 sqm) falls partly in mangroves.

Two township projects on the Little Andaman Island and the Great Nicobar region conceptualised by Niti Aayog will also be constructed by ANIIDCO.

Niti Aayog’s vision document on sustainable development of Little Andaman, seen by HT, says that a certain portion of the 442.5 square kilometre area reserved for the Onge tribe will be de-notified for the Little Andaman township, and another area earmarked for the tribe. “The de-notification of the tribal reserve is being considered by the tribal welfare department,” said a senior ANIIDCO official, refusing to be identified.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands chief secretary Jitendra Narain did not respond to HT’s queries.
HT reported on May 12 that EAC recommended the Great Nicobar township proposal for grant of terms of reference. Documents revealed that the project was likely to impact turtle and megapode nesting sites and coral reefs. EAC also said that the environmental aspects of the site having many endangered species weren’t given much weightage while selecting it.

Kartik Shanker, professor at the Indian Institute of Science’s Centre for Ecological Sciences and a specialist in community ecology and macroecology, and turtle biology, said the islands host tremendous marine biodiversity. “Development is definitely needed in the islands, but it needs to be ecologically sensitive and culturally conscious. These are some of the most important repositories of our biodiversity and ecological heritage and any development must minimise ecological impacts and benefit local communities,” said Shanker.

Great Nicobar is home to several endemic species such as the Nicobar megapode and the Nicobar tree shrew.

LEAD
A ‘reform wave’ Lakshadweep could do without
Wajahat HabibullahMAY 31, 2021

Though there is room for improvement, the archipelago does not need the measures announced by its administrator
Praful Khoda Patel, a former Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Minister who took additional charge as Administrator, Lakshadweep, in December last year, is in the news for having introduced a slew of draft legislation that will have a wide-ranging impact on the islands: the Lakshadweep Animal Preservation Regulation, 2021; the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Regulation (PASA); the Lakshadweep Panchayat Regulation, 2021 and Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation 2021. Addressing the media in the face of widespread criticism of these measures, Mr. Patel says he intends to develop Lakshadweep like neighbouring Maldives, “a renowned international tourist destination”.

Adding to this, the Collector of Lakshadweep, S. Asker Ali (a young IAS officer from Manipur) says, “It was only in 2017 that the Centre constituted the Island Development Agency under the Home Minister for the development of the islands. Since then, we have been working on developing town and country planning norms.”

ALSO READ;
Lakshadweep | Between the sea and a hard place

The IDA framework
Mr. Ali should be aware that a specially constituted Island Development Authority (IDA) for the island territories of India, chaired by no less than the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, had, in Kavaratti in 1988, approved a framework for the development of India’s island territories. It held the view that “an environmentally sound strategy for both island groups hinges on better exploitation of marine resources coupled with much greater care in the use of land resources”. Published in 1989, the report carried six recommendations for Lakshadweep (Cecil J. Saldanha, Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep: An Environmental Impact Assessment) . At this point, I must highlight that Lakshadweep was an assignment that I consider to be the most enriching in my career — I was Administrator, Lakshadweep, 1987-90.

Talking Politics With Nistula Hebbar | Resentment in Lakshadweep over new law proposals
Upon the conclusion of my term, the Union Territory had its own decentralised political entity from the adoption of panchayati raj much before the constitutional amendments of 1993, in which the Island Development Council, at the apex of the local government, was mandated to advise the Administrator on development; its own airport, and a flourishing tourist industry, with an international tourist resort in Bangaram. According to its first franchisee, Jose Dominic, this facilitated ecotourism in Kerala.

A paradise set in the Arabian Sea, the archipelago of Lakshadweep also gives India a vast and exclusive economic zone with three distinct ecosystems: land, lagoon and ocean. Fishery is a primary occupation here. The language, except in Minicoy, is Malayalam; in Minicoy, Mahl is spoken, a language akin to the 17th century Divehi of the Maldives.

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The society in all islands is matriarchal. The religion is Islam of the pristine Shafi school of law. When Islam came to the islands is debated. According to Prof. Lotika Varadarajan, “The thesis... that Islam was introduced not from Malabar but from Yemen and Hadramaut may be accepted in relation to the Maldives but not Lakshadweep... On the other hand, social conventions, dress and the position accorded to Thangals within the community all point to the Mappilas of Malabar as progenitors of present-day Islam in Lakshadweep.”

Vatteluttu was the earliest script used with its heavy Sanskrit component and this system of autography is in evidence in the sailing manuals of local pilots (malmis), on inscriptions on tombstones and those in some mosques/pallis. With the introduction of Islam, Arabi-Malayalam, with Malayalam in Arabic script and associated with the literature of the Mappilas that developed on the mainland, also came into use on the islands.

Editorial | Imperious missteps: On Lakshadweep restrictions

I was a part of the team accompanying Rajiv Gandhi while on his first visit to Lakshadweep in 1985. Together with his visit to the Andaman and Nicobar islands, Rajiv Gandhi was concerned about the development agenda for these ecologically fragile territories — an agenda hitherto dictated by a faraway government to a design set by the Union Planning Commission, and without so much as a reference to the people most concerned, the residents of the islands.

A ‘no’ to the Maldives model
Deliberations of the IDA wanted that Lakshadweep, with its land ownership constitutionally protected, be opened to international tourism not as a means of generating wealth for investors from the mainland but to bring prosperity to the islanders. Specifically rejecting the Maldives model, the plan for Lakshadweep required that the industry had to be people-centric and enrich the fragile coral ecology. Lakshadweep today has rainwater harvesting facilities, first introduced in government buildings on every island and now accessible in every home. Solar power, which covers 10% of lighting needs, makes Lakshadweep a pioneer in India’s present flagship initiative. All islands have been connected by helicopter service since 1986, and high-speed passenger boats were purchased in the 1990s by an international tender. A study by the National Institute of Oceanography found practical applications, helping a redesign of the tripods reinforcing the beaches against sea erosion, and ensuring piped water supply especially designed to draw from the fresh water lens that, in every coral island, floats on the saline underground seawater at the core of every coral island, so as not to disturb the slim lens.

‘Corporate mindset’ driving administrator’s action, says Lakshadweep MP

The islands boast total literacy. Minicoy had among the country’s first Navodaya Vidyalayas. Kadmat has a degree college that was designed by K.T. Ravindran, an authority on vernacular building traditions, who was to become dean and professor and head of the department of urban design at New Delhi’s School of Planning and Architecture. Vernacular building traditions are the theme of all government housing projects undertaken in the islands in the 1980s, with leading architects providing the designs. Kavaratti has a desalination wind-powered plant gifted by the Danish government. And although the poverty line in terms of GDP is only slightly higher than the World Bank’s poverty threshold, Lakshadweep today has no poor people; they have a high calorific consumption from plentiful foods harvested from the lagoons and islands.

The office of the Administrator, Lakshadweep was also among the first in India to be computerised with a mainframe and fax machine; every island in Lakshadweep had a computer by 1990. Endorsed with outlays by the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Finance Commissions (1984-2005), this established, in the words of the last of these Commissions “speedy and accurate generation of accounting information that might be needed for purposes of better planning, budgeting and monitoring”.

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Hibi Eden, MP, and T.N. Prathapan, MP, protesting in front of Lakshaddweep administrative office in Kochi on Wednesday.
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Admittedly, there is much room for improvement. Today, long lines and refrigeration have aided the expansion of the fishing sector but income disparities have grown. Indiscriminate trawling endangers the coral, as experienced in the Maldives and now banned there. The Government recognises the need to develop policies for enhancing employment opportunities, environment-friendly management of fisheries, sanitation, waste disposal and widening access to drinking water, with the youth, having acquired a modern education, preferring salaried jobs over pursuing traditional occupations. None of this requires any of the measures announced by Administrator Patel.

Revenue from tourism has declined with the closure of resorts (including at Bangaram) from litigation. A clear policy must include conservation and natural resource management arrived at after wide consultation, eminently possible within the existing infrastructure of the Union Territory, and also taking into account climatic compulsions. Maldives is hardly a suitable model. Water bungalows — an expensive concept and also hazardous to the coral — favoured by the NITI Aayog, would collapse in Lakshadweep’s turbulent monsoon. It should be noted that a wooden jetty installed at the diving school in Kadmat needs to be dismantled every monsoon.

Obtuse plans
But, ostensibly, in the pursuit of ‘holistic development’, using the ‘claim’ that there has been no development in Lakshadweep for the past 70 years, Mr. Praful Patel has proposed a cow slaughter ban in a territory where there are no cows (except in government-owned dairy farms) , a preventive detention law where there is no crime, and also steps to undermine tribal land ownership, with judicial remedy denied, with also plans for road widening on the islands where the maximum road length is 11 km. More insidious is the provision to allow the mining and exploitation of mineral resources which could convert the islands into a hub for cement manufacture.

Also read | Lakshadweep’s proposed two-child norm for panchayat polls ‘flawed’

Other initiatives by Mr. Praful Patel include panchayat rules designed to restrict the population growth in a territory where, according to the National Health and Family Survey-5 (2019-20), the total fertility rate is 1.4 (which is far behind the national average of 2.2) and relaxing prohibition, extant in the Union Territory because of public demand. Worse still is the relaxation of quarantine restrictions for travel which have introduced the novel coronavirus into a pandemic-free archipelago. The developments only lead one to suspect that there is something sinister being planned. Is the game plan to altogether supplant Lakshadweep’s human habitation with cement factories?

Wajahat Habibullah, a former IAS officer, was India’s first Chief Information Commissioner, and thereafter Chair, National Commission for Minorities

Philip wrote:Mr. Praful Patel has proposed a cow slaughter ban in a territory where there are no cows (except in government-owned dairy farms) , a preventive detention law where there is no crime

mody wrote:Also, co-operative prawn/shrimp farming should be started on the Islands and other co-operative movements for coconut processing units etc. would also help the locals. If the locals are making money, then the chances of them creating trouble reduces.

After the dhow stopped last week was deemed seaworthy and its crew was questioned, they were provided with food and water and released , according to the statement.

He is an alumnus of The Lawrence School, Sanawar, the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy. He was commissioned in Dec 1983, into 81 Armoured Regiment, a regiment raised by his late father. A fifth-generation cavalry officer, his family has served in the military for a combined 162 years since 13 September 1858.

General Ajai Singh has been an instructor of tank gunnery and tactics at the Armoured Corps Centre & School. He has also served in important assignments at the Army HQ, HQ Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) and as a Military Observer with the UN Peacekeeping mission in Angola.

He has served in counter-insurgency operations in the Kashmir Valley and in North East, where he was posted in a Mountain Division on the border. As a major with over 16 years of service, the general volunteered for a tenure on the Siachen Glacier. He was posted to a Maratha Light Infantry battalion, where he commanded a rifle company in Operations VIJAY (Kargil) and MEGHDOOT (Siachen Glacier). He was awarded the Army Chief’s Commendation for gallantry.

The General has tenanted sensitive posts in Army HQ in the Military Operations Directorate, the Directorate General (DG) of Financial Planning and the Directorate General of Military Training. He has also commanded an armoured regiment, a brigade, a division and a corps deployed on the border in Punjab & Rajasthan.

He has attended a mountaineering course at the High-Altitude Warfare School and tank gunnery and technology courses. He was selected to attend a UN Senior Mission Leader Course at Indonesia. He attended the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) course in the UK.

The officer’s civil educational qualifications include a BSc, an MBA with ORSA specialisation, an MSc in Defence Studies, an MPhil in Defence & Management Studies and an MA in International Security and Strategy from Kings College, London. He is currently pursuing a PhD on “Emerging Trends in China-Pak Relations with reference to CPEC and its implications for India”.

Lakshadweep belongs to us: P.P. Mohammed Faizal


S. Anandan
JUNE 04,

The fragile and unique ecosystem of the archipelago will collapse if steps are not taken to reverse the new draft law, says Lakshadweep’s sole MP, P.P. Mohammed Faizal

Forever thought to be a tranquil abode of corals, lagoons and a peaceful people, the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, in the Arabian Sea to the west of Kerala, made sudden headlines a few weeks ago. Widespread protests had erupted over a slew of new development regulations that were announced seemingly unilaterally by Lakshadweep’s new administrator, Praful Khoda Patel.

A campaign for the recall of the ‘insensitive’ administrator has now gained national momentum, with the island chain’s elected representatives, including its Panchayat members, and the sole Member of Parliament, P.P. Mohammed Faizal, seeking a restoration of democracy. Excerpts from an interview with Faizal:

Why did the new ‘development proposals’ rattle the calm political environs of Lakshadweep?

There were ongoing development projects in Lakshadweep well before Mr. Patel arrived. For example, when we needed specialist doctors during my first term as MP, we sought the help of the National Health Mission to contract doctors for a specified period in Lakshadweep. Agatti island had the service of some specialists but we wanted to extend it across Kavaratti, Androth, Amini and Minicoy islands. A monthly grant of ₹2 lakh was offered and the experience criterion was relaxed, but the response was tepid.


So we changed tack and called for tenders from hospitals to delegate doctors for one year. It worked and we got 35 specialists available round-the-clock. Hospital infrastructure and facilities were upgraded in tandem.

These contracts were set to expire when Mr. Patel arrived and without bothering to consult anyone, he ordered a return to the old, unviable system, which has reduced the number of specialists and their 24x7 availability. And how many days has Mr. Patel spent on the islands in the past six months to understand the ground realities? Hardly 15 days!

Secondly, all islanders evacuated to Kochi on medical grounds used to be covered under a comprehensive medical insurance scheme specific to Lakshadweep. Mr. Patel replaced it with Ayushman Bharat, which restricts the benefit to just BPL families. Worse, very few hospitals in Kochi are empanelled under Ayushman Bharat. The result is that treatment expenses are on the islanders now.

Work on a 100-bed hospital in Kavaratti, whose foundation was laid by President Ramnath Kovind, was 30% complete when the district collector halted it, citing the draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation (LDAR) and claimed at a press conference in Kochi that the administration would build a new hospital. Hundreds of workers have been retrenched. The people are put to untold hardship amidst a raging pandemic.

All draft notifications were in English and published on the Internet with just 20 days for people to respond. What was the tearing hurry? The people’s representatives learnt about the proposals just like the commoner. While they speak volumes about federalism, where’s the federal system here?

So, there were no consultations while these reforms were drafted?

We have a two-tier panchayat system and a district planning committee in which chairpersons of village panchayats, the MP, the district panchayat president, members and officers are members. The drafts weren’t discussed anywhere. Mr. Patel will go back when his tenure ends, but the island belongs to us and we live here. Democracy demands that reforms are discussed with us.

But the argument is that the legislations are still in draft form…

The draft notification for the Goonda Act (Lakshadweep Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Regulation) came in December and I’m not sure if it incorporated comments by the people before it was forwarded to the ministry. The Lakshadweep Animal Preservation Regulation [that bans beef on the Muslim-majority islands]; the Lakshadweep Panchayat Regulation [which clips the wings of democratically elected representatives] have all been sent. Only the LDAR is probably left.

But hasn’t it been in the works for some time now? The contention is that the Island Development Agency was formed for ‘holistic development’ in keeping with the Integrated Island Management Plan (IIMP).

I am a member of the advisory committee chaired by the Union Home Minister, which evaluates the overall development of the islands and of Centre-sponsored schemes. The committee hasn’t discussed any of these regulations.

As for the IIMP, it has been accepted and notified by the government, on the basis of which local entrepreneurs submitted several proposals that have been pending with the department of tourism for several years now. Why is the District Collector, who heads the tourism department, not granting permission to local entrepreneurs?

Lakshadweep is a place where VVIPs roam about without any security. The Collector has maligned the island, saying AK-47s have been seized, drug running has been unearthed. The archipelago is surrounded by international waters, where these seizures were made. Till date, not a single islander has been connected with these incidents.

Are you suggesting an ulterior motive behind the moves?

When the people of Kiltan protested the District Collector’s irresponsible statement, they were arrested for violating curfew. There was also an attempt to foist sedition charges on them. There’s a concerted move to justify the Goonda Act. Their intent is to implement LDAR, but see how the discussion was diverted to banning beef and introducing liquor on the islands. If LDAR, which has several downright foolish sections, is discussed, one would ask why Lakshadweep, whose largest island has a surface area of just 4.9 sq. km., needs a highway or a quarry.

Do you suspect that someone is eyeing the land on the uninhabited islands?

That’s the crux of the matter — land. The islanders have for decades cultivated on Pandaram land, and there was an effort to notify and regularise all transactions in relation to Pandaram land till December 2019. It was notified in the gazette and the framing of the rules for awarding occupancy was in the final stages when Mr. Patel came and questioned why people should have land on uninhabited islands. The creation of LDAR is targeted at the agricultural land, low-lying and underdeveloped, held by the islanders on uninhabited islands. These areas can be easily taken over in the name of tourism development. This is a way to grab land officially, and then lease it out. This is legalised land grab.

Are the islanders ecologically aware?

The islands are made of coral, which takes centuries to grow. The comparison with the Maldives is faulty because it has numerous uninhabited islands. Lakshadweep is tiny and densely populated and any development should be in tune with the IIMP. If you do it mindlessly, the island ecosystem will collapse and it’s our home, not Patel’s. A vast number of islanders have over time become aware of the fragility of its ecology. Sea cucumber is abundantly seen off these islands and their excretion feeds the corals. The islanders now know that if exploited extensively, this food chain breaks, threatening the existence of the corals.

With legislations still in draft form, it is alleged that panchayats are being denuded of powers.

They have thrust a dagger into democracy by divesting the panchayats of control over five major departments like agriculture, fisheries and animal husbandry, which directly contribute to people’s lives and welfare. We have written to the President and the Prime Minister. We are going to fight in the court too. We are now awaiting the Centre’s response. We will not succumb to any pressure and are ready to face the consequences.

[email protected]

Lieutenant General Ajai Singh, Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN), visited the military units and formations in the Landfall Island, the northernmost island of the Andaman group and reviewed operational preparedness, an official release said.


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Philip wrote:Urbanise LDW? Are you crazy? It is one of the most fragile eco-systems in the world! Can you "Urbanise" our equiv. of the Maldives? Skyscrapers like Mumbai in LDW? Destroying the ecology? For whose benefit? Crony capitalists and vested interests? Sheer ingorance and madness.

What is paramount is security. For that appoint a military administrator not a nincompoop of a bigoted admin like Pol Pot Patel who wants to saffronise a terrritory that's almost 100% Muslim where we have had NO trouble at all. The drug trade from Pak through the Arabian Sea to Sri Lanka has been going on for 40+ years!
Leave the islanders to their lifestyle of centuries.Don't create another Khalistan or Kashmir in LDW.I am surprised that a few cannot see the truth and reality in LDW.

Please carefully study the new diktats by the admin. Your property can be taken over at the whims and fancies of the admin. Would anyone allow that to happen with their own homes and property elswewhere in the country?? It's a dry territory.If promoting tourism is the reason,then why is Gujarat dry? Open up bars,etc. in Gujarat as in Kerala,Mumbai.If the people of part of our nation who've been living their for centuries have no say in their future because of a diktat from a govt. flunkey, it will lead to trouble. As I've said,make security paramount,LIMITED tourist spots as in the ANC and build a comprehensive network of naval and air facilities from which to dominate the Arabian Sea off peninsula India.

Perhaps the best decision that the GOI can do as some are saying is to make all UTs states. That way the citizens of those territories will be able to decide for themselves through the ballot box what future they want.THAT is democracy,not UTs run by a latter-day "viceroy" from Delhi.

Philip wrote:As to LDWs security, I've said appoint a mil. admin. as replacement of the admin. No chance whatsoever of any Islamic fundoo behaviour after that.

Philip wrote:What is shocking about the admin's diktat is that the islands are to be destroyed by handing them over to chosen developers just as is being planned for the ANC

Philip wrote:Let the locals continue their fishing, slow pace of life while all security aspects are enhanced and any loopholes plugged.

Philip wrote:...our capability to intercept,monitor the drug,smuggling and potential terror traffic from Pak to SL and the Maldives.

Philip wrote:If we emulate what the PRC has done in the ICS,we could link up a few islands with causeways, or even extend their footprint through reclamation, which will give us extra longer airstrips to operate P-8Is IL-38s, even fighter aircraft , larger anchorages,etc.

Philip wrote:All structures can be sensitively built. Eco-friendly environmentally sound and aesthetic

Philip wrote:So you want Dilli to deport them en masse like Hitler sent the Jews and untermenschen off to the camps or dumped into the sea,? Absurd!

Philip wrote: And the fact remains that LDW has been one of the most peaceful areas of the country. So you want Dilli to deport them en masse like Hitler sent the Jews and untermenschen off to the camps or dumped into the sea,? Absurd!

The ANC used to have restrictions,still do regarding certain islands off limits to visitors.

Philip wrote:Unfortunately the piece is available only to subscribers but the author, who knows the territory, advises a sensible way in which to integrate the islands into the mainstream without upsetting local sensitivities

The atolls/islands of LDW are too fragile to absorb mainland style development, concrete jungles, etc.

There is only monsoon water that is collected and exists in shallow wells for the locals.

LDW can only have limited tourism,that too which must be most carefully designed and in keeping with the local style of buildings, etc.

But fundamentally, all across the country,one must respect the locals.

Will anyone on the mainland accept such a diktat?

The GOI should recall him and instead appoint a military adviser/commander for LDW which will resolve any attempts at sedition,terrorism,drugs,smuggling,etc.

India could be extending the 3,000-feet strip at INS Baaz, the Naval Air Station located at Campbell Bay on the Great Nicobar Island, satellite images show.

Commissioned in 2012 by the then Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal Verma, INS Baaz is the southernmost air station of the Indian armed forces.

The base, overlooking the six-degree channel, one of the busiest shipping lanes of the world, is only around 130 nautical miles (240 km) away from the mouth of the Malacca Straits, the maritime chokepoint that links the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Almost 80 percent of China’s oil imports pass through the South China Sea via the Strait of Malacca.

The base is located at a distance of about 300 nautical miles (556 km) from Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Posted on Twitter by open-source intelligence handle @detrasfa_, satellite imagery shows that India could have extended the runway at the Naval Air Station by around 900 feet, taking the total length to around 4,300 feet.

When it was opened in 2012 with a runway of 3,500 feet (1,060 metres), the Indian Navy said that the runway will be “progressively lengthened to enable unrestricted operation of all categories of aircraft including heavy aircraft”.

“The base [INS Baaz] will also be bolstered with modern airfield instruments and navigation aids,” the Indian Navy said back then.

The plan was to extend the runway to 6,000 feet over the next year, and then to 10,000 feet. However, in the years after the base was commissioned, the runway was not extended. As a result, the Naval Air Station was only equipped to operate light aircraft capable of short field operations.

The expansion of the runway was reportedly delayed due to issues related to land acquisition issues and environmental clearances.

In 2019, over six years after it was commissioned, reports said work was on to extend the length of the runway at the Naval Air Station by around 1,000-feet, and that another 6,000-feet were to be added to the runway at a later stage.

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh visited INS Baaz in October 2019 and again in November 2020. The Indian Navy did not mention any plan to extend the runway at the Naval Air Station in statements released after these visits.

Once the runway at INS Baaz is expanded to 6,000 feet, the Indian Navy will be able to operate its P-8I maritime surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft from the Naval Air Station. Flying from INS Baaz, these submarine-hunting aircraft of the Indian Navy can keep an eye over the multiple maritime chokepoints in the region that Chinese submarines could use to enter the Indian Ocean.

“The Navy plans to locate at least some of its P-8I surveillance planes at the Campbell Bay once the runway extension work is over,” a report said in 2017.

Indian fighters, if deployed at the base, can reach the Malacca Strait in minutes.

The expansion of the runway at INS Baaz comes at a time when the Narendra Modi government is working on a plan to develop the Greater Nicobar Island as a regional hub with a transshipment terminal, a greenfield international airport, township and area development and a 450 megavolt amperes gas and solar based power plant.

The plan for a transshipment terminal and other infrastructure projects on the island cleared the first major hurdle in its way earlier this year as the Expert Appraisal Committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change “recommended” it “for grant of terms of reference”.

ramana wrote:Philip, Both ANC and LDW are like two hands of India and will be retained no matter what.
No point in getting hyper. I have been my following LDW since 2018.
LDW has become entrepot for smuggling, trafficking and terrorism.
Current system of security is wholly inadequate.

VinodTK wrote: I have always viewed (imagine) ANC and LDW as two stationary aircraft carrier groups (unsinkable). ANC can be viewed as a large carrier group and LDW as a smaller carrier group, positioned is strategic locations by nature. Hope the powers to be will leverage them accordingly.

kit wrote:

VinodTK wrote: I have always viewed (imagine) ANC and LDW as two stationary aircraft carrier groups (unsinkable). ANC can be viewed as a large carrier group and LDW as a smaller carrier group, positioned is strategic locations by nature. Hope the powers to be will leverage them accordingly.

Indeed, with the chinese making inroads to as far as Sri lanka the island chains should become fortresses protecting the mainland against any enemy by land /air/sea/ especially underwater. There should be enough capability for force projection into the South China Sea and to the middle east and Africa

I would advocate for separate aircraft carrier groups to be based in ANC and another in LDW ., in addition to three for the mainland.
Future would be offensive defensive for India , not a purely defensive maritime power