Sri Vijaya Puram | December 30, 2025
By Tarun Karthick
The Pradhan of Gram Panchayat Laxmi Nagar, the southernmost panchayat of the country located in Great Nicobar Island, has notified that a Gram Sabha meeting will be held on December 31, 2025, at Gandhi Nagar Community Hall at 10:00 am.
The agenda of the meeting is the “Explanation of the Preliminary Notification under Section 11(1) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RECTLARR) Act, 2013.”
Great Nicobar Island is currently witnessing major changes as the Government of India is implementing a series of projects collectively referred to as the Great Nicobar Island Project. One of the components of this initiative is the GNI Greenfield International Airport Project, for which the government has initiated the process of acquiring land from residents of the two southernmost revenue villages of the country—Gandhi Nagar and Shastri Nagar.
Since the publication of the Preliminary Notification under Section 11(1) of the RECTLARR Act, 2013 by the administration, there has been widespread confusion among residents of the affected areas regarding the land acquisition process.
The upcoming Gram Sabha meeting is being seen as an important step to address this issue. While people of the region have largely expressed support for the Government of India’s development initiatives in Great Nicobar Island, which they believe will benefit local residents, the entire Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and contribute to the country’s economy and security, they have also raised certain concerns.
These concerns are primarily related to compensation for acquired land and issues of rehabilitation and resettlement of affected persons.
Speaking to Nicobar Times, Mr. Prahlad Singh, Pradhan of Gram Panchayat Laxmi Nagar, informed that the Gram Sabha will be addressed by the Assistant Commissioner, Campbell Bay. He further stated that it is important for affected people and other residents to clearly understand the land acquisition process under the RECTLARR Act, 2013, and expressed hope that the Gram Sabha would help clear existing confusion regarding the process.
