Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 28 April 2025
Expressing deep concern over the longstanding hardships confronted by tsunami-affected households within the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray, Member of Parliament, A&N Islands, has urged the administration to grant tenancy rights to the allottees of everlasting tsunami shelters.
In a written communication addressed to the Hon’ble Lt. Governor of the A&N Islands — with copies endorsed to the Hon’ble Prime Minister and the Hon’ble Union Home Minister — Mr. Ray has sought pressing intervention to deal with the plight of the affected households.
Highlighting the difficulty, Mr. Ray famous that everlasting shelters constructed between 2006 and 2009 at areas together with Campbell Bay, Little Andaman, Sippighat, Terelabad, Burmanallah, Calicut, Chouldhari, Nayashahar, and Bambooflat have been allotted to households who had misplaced lives and property within the devastating 2004 tsunami. Built by means of a collaborative effort between authorities businesses and NGOs, these shelters have offered primary housing for the previous 16 years.
However, regardless of being issued formal allotment orders and managing their very own utility providers reminiscent of water and electrical energy, the allottees have neither obtained monetary help for repairs nor any authorized titles to their shelters. Over the years, the shelters have fallen right into a dilapidated state, with many buildings struggling extreme harm.
Adding to the residents’ challenges is the absence of tenancy rights or authorized possession over the roughly 200 sq. meters of land every family occupies. Without authorized tenure, households stay ineligible for financial institution loans, authorities housing schemes, or formal help for renovations.
Mr. Ray has urged that tenancy rights, within the type of licences underneath the A&N Islands Land Revenue and Land Reforms Regulation, 1966, and its related guidelines, be issued to the affected households. He emphasised that granting such rights would allow residents to entry monetary help, rebuild and preserve their houses, and enhance their general high quality of life.
He expressed hope that the Hon’ble Lt. Governor would act swiftly and compassionately to safe the authorized rights and dignity of the tsunami-affected households.
