New Delhi, Feb. 5 -- Residents of Lakshadweep are protesting an attempt by the Union Territory's administration to acquire 101,020 sq m of private land for tourism and other projects at Agatti Island on the grounds that this is being done without requiring the mandatory approval of gram sabhas and land owners as prescribed by law. The area of land sought to be acquired is a little over 3% of the total area of Agatti. The plan to acquire this land was notified by Shivam Chandra, collector, Lakshadweep on January 5 . To be sure, while it says a Social Impact Assessment study will be carried out in sync with the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, it mentions that the consent of "gram sabhas and/or land owners is "not mandatory", the notification, seen by HT, said. Islanders became concerned when they came across the notification, days after it was issued. Six islanders from Agatti sent a memorandum, seen by HT, on the issue to the minister of tribal affairs; National Commission for Scheduled Tribes and advisor to the Lakshadweep Administrator on February 1. The memorandum says "it is shocking" that "consent of Gram Sabhas and / or land owners is not mandatory" according to the notice. It adds that in the last five years, the UT's administration has come out with several projects to acquire large areas of tribal land holdings "which are not justifiable and harmful to the fragile environment of our small coral islands". The projects are in "clear violation of the Environment Protection Regulations, guidelines and approved Integrated Island Management Plan (IIMP)," it states. Lakshadweep collector Shivam Chandra did not respond to HT's calls or messages. "Environment conservation is important for sustainable tourism projects. More and more concrete roads along the beach line will only damage the natural beauty and quite serene and tranquil atmosphere of Agatti Island," it says, adding while there is already a road within 50-100 m, all around the island's 15-km long coastline, the administration has recently come out with a plan to construct a 12-m wide concrete road along the coastline in the no development zone. HT reached out to minister of tribal affairs Jual Oram's office. He is yet to respond....