Ex-NSA Shivshankar Menon, former Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar, ex-foreign secretary Sujatha Singh and former CIC Wajahat Habibullah had been among the many signatories
New Delhi: A gaggle of 93 former civil servants wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday, expressing “deep concern” over what they known as had been “disturbing developments” within the Union Territory of Lakshadweep within the title of “improvement”.
They’ve urged the prime minister to make sure an acceptable improvement mannequin, in session with the islanders with emphasis on entry to secure and safe healthcare, schooling and simply governance amongst others.
Asserting that Lakshadweep occupies a singular place in India’s geographic and cultural variety, the group highlighted drafts of three rules launched by PK Patel after assuming extra cost of Administrator of Lakshadweep in December 2020.
Patel can be the Administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu.
Since taking cost, he has launched drafts of the Lakshadweep Improvement Authority Regulation (LDAR), the Lakshadweep Prevention of Anti-Social Actions Regulation (generally often called PASA or the Goonda Act elsewhere), and the Lakshadweep Animal Preservation Regulation (LAPR), in addition to an modification to the Lakshadweep Panchayat Laws which have generated widespread nervousness on the island and the nation at massive, they’ve mentioned within the letter.
“These drafts have been launched with out native session and are presently with the Ministry of Dwelling Affairs, authorities of India for vital approvals,” mentioned the letter written by former civil servants underneath the aegis of Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG).
A replica of the letter has been shared with house minister Amit Shah and Atmosphere, Forest and Local weather Change Minister Prakash Javadekar.
Claiming that there was no improvement in Lakshadweep for the previous 70 years, the LDAR displays a mannequin of land and tourism improvement which incorporates resorts, resorts and beachfronts on the “Maldives mannequin” unmindful of the variations between the 2 island teams in dimension, inhabitants, variety of islands and their unfold, it mentioned.
“We write to you right now to register our deep concern over disturbing developments going down within the pristine Union Territory (UT) of Lakshadweep within the title of ”improvement”,” the letter mentioned.
Former nationwide safety adviser Shivshankar Menon, former Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar, ex-foreign secretary Sujatha Singh, former adviser to prime minister TKA Nair and former Chief Data Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah had been among the many 93 signatories.
Lakshadweep is an ecologically delicate coral archipelago situated off the Malabar coast consisting of 36 islands (of which 10 are inhabited and one developed as a vacationer resort) unfold out over 32 sq. kilometres within the Indian Ocean, with a Muslim majority inhabitants of round 65,000 that’s matrilineal, largely egalitarian, and ethnically near Kerala, from the place it was dominated via a lot of its historical past, it mentioned.
Issues over dispossession of land, predatory company improvement and destruction of the surroundings have been compounded by the draft PASA, a preventive detention regulation that allows the administrator to detain any individual for as much as a 12 months for widespread crimes (like anti-social behaviour, smuggling contraband medicine and liquor, involvement in immoral site visitors, land grabbing, cyber-crimes, sexual offences or damaging the surroundings), the group mentioned.
“Different rules proposed by the administrator goal meals and dietary habits and non secular injunctions of the native islanders, 96.5 % of whom are Muslims,” it mentioned.
The LAPR will, if handed into regulation, successfully ban the killing of bovine animals and prohibit the consumption, storage, transport or sale of cattle meat in an island surroundings the place there are inherent limits to livestock improvement, the letter mentioned.
No such prohibitions apply to a number of states within the North East and even the state of Kerala subsequent door, it mentioned.
A ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol in step with the spiritual sensitivities of the overwhelmingly Muslim inhabitants has been lifted, as soon as once more ostensibly to advertise tourism, giving each the meat ban and lifting of prohibition on alcohol an avoidable communal color in a delicate maritime area the place communal disharmony may hurt nationwide safety, the letter mentioned.
The modifications being proposed by the Lakshadweep Panchayat Regulation, 2021 for elections to gram panchayats that may disqualify candidates with greater than two youngsters from contesting seats for the gram panchayat too have been proposed with none native session or considering native sensitivities, it mentioned.
“Every of those measures smacks not of improvement however of alien and arbitrary coverage making, in violation of established practices that respect the surroundings and society of Lakshadweep,” the letter mentioned.
Taken collectively, the actions and far-reaching proposals of the Administrator, with out due session with the islanders, represent an onslaught on the very cloth of Lakshadweep society, economic system and panorama as if the islands had been only a piece of actual property for vacationers and tourism traders from the surface world, it mentioned.
“We urge that these measures be withdrawn forthwith, the UT be supplied with a full-time, people-sensitive and responsive Administrator, and that an acceptable improvement mannequin that emphasises entry to secure and safe healthcare, schooling, simply governance, meals safety and livelihood choices linked to the ecosystem, in session with islanders, be put in place, constructing on the achievements up to now,” the letter mentioned.