Q.

6 (c) Discuss the strategy of development of island regions in India

INTRODUCTION
Islands are peculiar to oceansa scrap of land at the mercy of the
tormenting forces that oceans impose. They are indeed vulnerable to natural
as well as environmental disasters and have a limited capacity to respond to
and recover from disasters as can be seen from the disastrous aftermath of
the tsunami in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Further, islands have limited fresh resources, increasing amounts of waste
and hazardous substances and limited facilities for waste disposal all of
which threaten the island ecosystem. Islands largely depend on petroleum
fuels as an energy resource.
Islands and beaches are known to fascinate people as a tourist resort.
According to a survey of domestic tourists in India, beaches and islands are
among the best attractions for tourists in the country.
India has a total of 1382 offshore islands, out of which officials have initially
proposed 26, which could be considered for holistic development. These 26
islands are located along different parts of Indias coastline, including some in
the Andamans and Lakshadweep.

Development of Key Islands in India:

Developmental activities of islands are centred around basic infrastructure, tourism,

agriculture (including organic agriculture and fisheries), and carbon-neutral energy
generation.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands:

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI) are a group of picturesque
islands, big and small, inhabited and uninhabited, totalling 572 with
islets and rocky cliffs, lying in the South-Eastern part of the Bay of
Bengal. It is under the administration of the Central government of
 India and is located at the latitude between 92 and 94 E and
longitude between 6 and 14 N

The Union territory is bestowed with abundant marine resources and

green vegetation. The total area of the island is 8249 sq. km
(Andaman: 6408 sq. km and Nicobar: 1841 sq. km). Only 16.64 sq.
km is marked as urban and 8232.36 sq. km area is rural. Only 38
islands have human habitations.
A stagnant primary sector combined with declining industrial activity
has severely limited employment opportunities outside government
service. Any development strategy in the UT must take into account
its potential and build on its strengths: its relatively high literacy rate
and good health status, an abundant natural resource endowment,
potential for development of tourism, and potential for exports of
fishery products, medicinal plants, spices, coconut and horticulture
products.
Agriculture in ANI is being practised at various places like South
Andaman, Havelock Island, Niel Island, etc. The major agricultural
crops are coconut, areca nut, vegetables like tomatoes, brinjal, bitter
gourd, etc. It is proposed to step up the agricultural growth by
focusing the strategy on low input-low volume-high value agriculture
 Foodgrain production should be at subsistence level; production of
vegetables, oilseeds and perishables should be at semi-commercial
level; and production of coconut, areca nut, medicinal plants and
orchids should be at commercial level. The following measures need
special attention: high quality seeds, modern production techniques,
irrigation, access to credit, transport and marketing facilities,
integrated pest management, and training of farmers.
The ecological and environmental conditions do not permit setting
up of large-scale industrial units in ANI. There are 1,763 registered
small scale village and handicrafts units as on March 31, 2006. There
are shells and wood-based handicraft units.
SSI units are engaged in the production of paints and varnishes,
mini flour mills, soft drinks and beverages, steel furniture and fixtures,
readymade garments, etc. Industrial development in ANI is proposed
to focus on fishery, agro and horticulture-based fresh and processed
products, cane and bamboo and related industries and handicrafts
units of small and medium scale.
The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around the islands
encompasses around 0.6. million sq. km which is 30 per cent of the
EEZ of India. This provides a great opportunity for fisheries are
exploitation of other marine resources. Aquaculture is promoted in
case of mud crab and lobster fattening, freshwater shrimp farming,
and freshwater fish farming.
The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) has initiated
active research programmes to identify potential drugs from marine
living resources at Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Pollution
monitoring in the 10 degree channel between Andaman and Nicobar
Islands has been completed. A 15 hectare farm facility, namely
Andaman Nicobar Centre for Ocean Science and Technology
(ANCOST), as a field unit of NIOT, has been established at Port
Blair.
The NIOT has also formed a self help group (SHG) titled Aqua Crab
Farming SHG at the Laxmipur village of Diglipur Zilla Parishad.
Tourism is one of the major developmental activities in these islands.
The Andaman tropical evergreen rainforests, the beautiful silver
sandy beaches, the serpentine mangrove-lines creeks, marine life
abounding in rare species of plants, animals, corals, etc., provide a
 memorable experience to the tourists.The Andaman and Nicobar
Islands have been recognised as an eco-friendly tourists destination

Lakshadweep Islands:
The Union Territory of Lakshadweep, also known as the Emerald
Islands, is an archipelago consisting of 27 (11 inhabited and 16
uninhabited) coral islands, 12 atolls, three reefs, and five submerged
banks. The Laccadives, Minicoy and Amindivi group of Islands were
renamed as Lakshadweep in 1973. It is a one-district Union territory
with an area of 32 sq. km. The islands lie about 220 to 440 km from
the Kerala coast

The Lakshadweep atolls like all the other coral atolls have two
important mineral deposits, viz., phosphate and calcium
carbonate. The phosphate deposits occur on all the islands and are
formed by the bird excreta or guano. The lagoons contain large
quantities of almost pure calcium carbonate sands.

Lakshadweep is one of the largest territories of India. The importance

of Lakshadweep is not restricted to the economy of India but also to
 its defence due to its strategic location. However, there are no
marked vegetation zones or cultivated fields due to its porous soil.
The most important commercial crop of the island is the coconut tree,
which is grown on all islands except in the Pitti Islands. The
Lakshadweep coconuts are the highest oil content nuts in the
world (72 per cent).

Fishing is a major source of income for the people. The NIOT has
successfully designed and developed Fish Aggregating Devices
(FADs) around the Lakshadweep Islands at depths ranging from
500m to 1200 m around 12 islands. Lakshadweep has immense
potential for development of marine fisheries and seafood. Minicoy,
Agatti, Suheli and Bitra are important in regard to tuna fishery

According to the 2001 census, Lakshadweep has a population of

60,595 persons. Because of the economic and social backwardness,
coupled with the remoteness of these islands from the mainland, the
entire indigenous population is classified as Scheduled Tribe. The
main occupation of the people is fishing and coconut cultivation.
Poultry enterprise is another emerging industry in Lakshadweep.

Tourism is developing into an important industry in Lakshadweep.

Agatti, Bangaram, Kalpeni, Kadmat, Kavaratti and Minicoy are
important tourist places.

Sagar Island:
The Sagar Island or Gangasagar stretching for 300 sq. km. on the
continental shelf of the Bay of Bengal is situated around 150 km
south of Kolkata, West Bengal. The island is home to the Royal
Bengal Tiger which is an endangered species. There are mangrove
 swamps, waterways and small rivers. It is a Hindu pilgrimage centre.

For development of the island, the government has planned to link it

with the mainland through construction of a 3.3-km bridge. Planning
has taken into account the need to preserve the ecosystem of the
island and to utilise it in a wise manner for economic development.
The island has huge potential for development as a tourist site for
its religious-cultural significance as well as its scenic beauty. There is
also potential for development of fisheries in and around the island
area and regional planning for this area has to adopt special
strategies for the purpose.

RECENT DEVELOPMENT

The administration of Andaman & Nicobar Islands has established a separate

department Directorate of Disaster Management for managing disasters. A
state control room has also been established and functioning 24/7 year round.
The emergency operation centres are functioning in coordination with all line
departments/stakeholders under the supervision and control of state emergency
operation centre with a fine state-of-art communication linkage with support of
Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, Hyderabad, Indian
Meteorological Department, New Delhi, Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), National Disaster Management Authority
(NDMA), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). In Lakshadweep, the
Integrated Island Management Plan (IIMP) has taken care of the protection in the
event of natural calamities.
 Presently, SPORTS (Society for Promotion of Nature Tourism & Sports), the
Government agency of Union Territory of Lakshadweep, employs tribal people for
running tourism and the Union Territory Department of Tourism is imparting
training to them in the tourism-related field. The Andaman & Nicobar
Administration have informed that tribal areas are not open for tourism in
Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

The National Institution for Transforming India, also called NITI Aayog, was
formed via a resolution of the Union Cabinet. NITI Aayog is the premier policy
Think Tank of the Government of India, providing both directional and policy
inputs. While designing strategic and long-term policies and programmes for the
Government of India, NITI Aayog also provides relevant technical advice to the
centre and states.