CURRENT AFFAIRS | MAY 18, 2026
The Port Blair circuit bench of the Calcutta High Court has agreed to hear a public-interest litigation filed by former Union Secretary Meena Gupta challenging the ₹81,000-crore Great Nicobar Island Infrastructure Project on Forest Rights Act grounds. At the heart of the dispute lies a 12 August 2022 set of Gram Sabha resolutions that the petitioner says were procedurally void, substantively unrepresentative, and revoked within three months. For CLAT aspirants the case is a tribal-rights jurisprudence revision — Niyamgiri redux, on India’s last truly remote frontier.
Constitutional & Statutory Framework
- Forest Rights Act, 2006: s.3 (community & individual forest rights); s.4 (recognition); s.5 (powers of Gram Sabha); s.6 (adjudication of claims).
- Rule 12A, FRA Rules (inserted 2014): consent of Gram Sabha is mandatory for diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes.
- Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 & Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
- Article 244 + Fifth Schedule: administration of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes (mainland); Sixth Schedule for NE tribal areas.
- PESA, 1996: Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act — extends Part IX with modifications and gives Gram Sabha a central role in resource decisions.
- Leading precedent: Orissa Mining Corporation v. MoEF (2013) — the Niyamgiri judgment — Gram Sabha is the constitutional authority to determine community, cultural and religious rights of forest dwellers.
CLAT Angle
CLAT will use this story for a Legal Reasoning passage on the doctrine of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) as understood through Rule 12A. Expect a question on whether a Tribal Council’s withdrawal of consent after Stage-I clearance can unwind the project. A second probable question: which constitutional schedule protects the Shompen — Fifth or Sixth? (Answer: neither directly applies to Andaman & Nicobar, a Union Territory; protection flows from PVTG status, Art. 244 read with Part-X jurisprudence, and FRA itself.) Examiners will plant a trap option using “Niyamgiri” as a free-form keyword without naming the case correctly.
Key Facts at a Glance
| Project | Great Nicobar Island Infrastructure Project (GNI) |
| Outlay | ₹81,000 crore |
| Components | Transshipment port + greenfield airport (dual-use) + integrated township + solar/gas power plant |
| Forest land diverted | 166.10 sq km; protected forest 121.87, deemed forest 8.88 |
| Tribal community | Shompen — PVTG, ~330 persons; three settlements inside project zone |
| Gram Sabha consent | Campbell Bay, Laxmi Nagar, Govind Nagar — 12 Aug 2022 |
| Consent revoked | Tribal Council — 22 Nov 2022 |
Mnemonic — Remember It Forever
GNI = “Greatly Nicobar Imperilled”: Gram Sabha, NTFP rights, Indigenous consent.
If you must remember only one case: Niyamgiri (2013) = Gram Sabha primacy. If you must remember only one section: FRA s.5 = Gram Sabha powers. If you must remember only one rule: Rule 12A = consent for forest diversion.
Take the Quiz
Ten CLAT-style multi-pass questions on tribal-rights jurisprudence and the Great Nicobar litigation.
Practice Quiz — 10 CLAT-Style Questions
Click an option to reveal the answer and explanation.
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