Tarun Karthick
Campbell Bay, 24 November 2025
Ex-Servicemen Settler Families residing in Great Nicobar Island, particularly in the Laxmi Nagar Panchayat area, are moving towards forming an association to collectively pursue fair compensation and additional benefits in exchange for land acquisition under various components of the Great Nicobar Island (GNI) Project.
A meeting in this regard is expected to take place on Thursday, as several representatives from the settler families are travelling to Campbell Bay aboard a ship departing Sri Vijaya Puram on 25 November 2025.
The settlers, whose lands are currently being surveyed for acquisition, believe a unified body is essential to negotiate equitable compensation and perks. As of now, the preliminary notification for land acquisition affecting Ex-Servicemen Settler Families under the Greenfield Airport component has been issued. Survey and census activities are underway under Section 16 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013.
Families from Gandhi Nagar and Shastri Nagar — whose lands are directly impacted — have expressed apprehension about the estimated compensation. The minimum notified circle rates for land stand at ₹131 per sq. m in Gandhi Nagar and ₹113 per sq. m in Shastri Nagar. Locals point out that although actual market values are believed to be significantly higher, most registered sale deeds reflect values closer to the circle rate due to higher stamp duties applicable otherwise. Consequently, estimated compensation calculated by the settlers based on the minimum notified circle rates is falling far below their expectations.
To safeguard their interests, the community intends to collectively advocate not only for handsome compensation for their land but also for additional benefits. Their demands include alternative land allotment for every affected family, government employment for family members, provision of individual housing on newly allotted land, and fair compensation for plantations and other livelihood assets.
Speaking to Nicobar Times, a descendent of one of the original Ex-Servicemen Settlers highlighted the community’s role in the development of Great Nicobar.
“Our settlement is not just another ordinary settlement. My family is one among the 330 Ex-Servicemen families who were resettled here with the hope of a better life than the one in the mainland. We are still struggling for basic needs, and now that a massive project is coming up, we want to be an integral part of it. We do not oppose development; in fact, we welcome it. But we expect handsome compensation in return.”
He added that the government must duly recognise the contribution of the settlers, who over the last five decades transformed the island from dense forest into a habitable region where such mega development is now possible.
“Our elders safeguarded this island and developed it into a paradise. The compensation should allow us to build businesses and secure our future generations. We want the Administration and Government of India to accept our demands so that we remain active partners in the project, not victims of displacement.”
With the land acquisition process progressing, the formation of the association is expected to bring a collective voice to the negotiation table and ensure the concerns of these ex-servicemen settler families are duly heard at both the UT Administration and Central Government levels.
