Congress demands review of Lakshadweep regulations

Administration betraying people through draconian and undemocratic reforms, says memorandum

Congress leaders led by AICC secretary P. Vishwanathan submitted a memorandum of opinion to Ankit Agarwal, Administrative Officer of the Lakshadweep Administration’s Kochi and Mangaluru offices, on Friday, demanding a review of the recent “anti-people regulations” implemented in the islands and their revocation. “Lakshadweep was a place where people and the administration were in complete harmony with each other. This congruence may not exist any further, as your administration seems to betray its people by introducing various draconian and undemocratic reforms. This has created a situation of confusion and uncertainty about the future,” the memorandum said. The prejudicial and discriminative decisions include the ill-conceived Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation 2021 in the ecologically-sensitive area. It will contravene the integrated island management plan formulated as per a Supreme Court directive. There is no scope for “town planning” in Lakshadweep, and real estate development schemes contemplated in the regulations will be highly destructive of the environment, culture, and ethos of the island. Massive land acquisitions in the name of development were never attempted in the densely-populated Union Territory over the past 73 years.