Sri Vijaya Puram, Sept. 30: The Akhil Bharatiya Bango Parishad, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, has submitted a 28-point memorandum to the Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory, seeking action on a wide range of long-pending issues concerning land, employment, healthcare, infrastructure, transportation, tourism, power, social security and the rights of settler families.
The memorandum, dated September 30, 2026, was submitted by Mr. Ajoy Bairagi, National Vice President of the Akhil Bharatiya Bango Parishad, to the Lieutenant Governor at Lok Niwas, Sri Vijaya Puram. In the memorandum, the organisation welcomed the Lieutenant Governor on his recent assignment and requested consideration of what it described as “burning issues” faced by residents of the Islands since settlement began in 1953.
One of the principal demands is the introduction of a Legislative Assembly for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, on the lines of Puducherry and Delhi. The organisation has also referred to commitments made during an Island Development Agency meeting held on January 19, 2003, and sought fulfilment of demands relating to land allotment to legitimate additional settler families.
The memorandum seeks allotment of 7.5 bighas of agricultural land to each legitimate additional settler family, citing the commitment attributed to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It also seeks allotment of one acre for cultivation and 500 square metres for a house site to families who have been living after encroaching on government land since 1978 or thereafter. The organisation has further demanded financial assistance of Rs. 75,000 per family for shifting existing dwellings and constructing new houses.
Another demand concerns the excess landed properties of registered settler families, old encroachers of revenue land and pre-1978 licence-holders, with the organisation seeking allotment of such properties among their offspring.
The Parishad has also called for early completion of construction and renovation works on National Highway-4, describing the highway as the lifeline of North and Middle Andaman. It has sought recognition of Hindu lower-caste settlers and their descendants, who were rehabilitated from East Pakistan from 1953 onwards, as Scheduled Castes in the Islands, similar to their counterparts in West Bengal and other states.
Improvement of connectivity also figures prominently in the memorandum. The organisation has demanded smooth and uninterrupted passenger and cargo shipping services between Mayabunder and Kolkata, commencement of commercial civilian flight services between Kolkata’s Dum Dum airport, Sri Vijaya Puram and Diglipur airport, and expansion of tourism infrastructure in Diglipur, Rangat, Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep.
The Parishad has sought expansion of the Aerial Bay jetty at Diglipur so that large ships can berth there. It has also demanded the introduction of helicopter services in Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep and measures to make air travel between the mainland and the Islands more affordable.
On agriculture, the memorandum seeks subsidised fertilisers for farmers. It also calls for construction of a permanent guest house at Sri Vijaya Puram for Islanders from North and Middle Andaman, Shaheed Dweep, Swaraj Dweep, Little Andaman and the southern group of Islands, including Car Nicobar and Campbell Bay, particularly those who frequently visit the capital.
Healthcare is another major area highlighted in the memorandum. The organisation has demanded strengthening of rural health services and deployment of specialist doctors in adequate numbers. It has specifically sought at least five specialists—one surgeon, one physician, one gynaecologist, one paediatrician and one anaesthetist—in important locations including Diglipur, Rangat, Little Andaman and Car Nicobar. Regular supply of essential medicines to health centres in these areas has also been sought.
The Parishad has further demanded establishment of an AIIMS in North and Middle Andaman District.
On forest and land-related matters, the organisation has sought that the findings and recommendations of the Shekhar Singh Commission be declared null and void. It has also demanded royalty-free supply of wood, logs and planks to registered settler families, including specified quantities for house construction, house repairs and boat building.
The memorandum also seeks conversion of hilly land allotted to registered Bengali settler families into occupancy rights, along with easier access for extracting wood from their allotted hilly land. It has called for regular supply of excavated loose earth, sand, gravel and stone for domestic use by Islanders.
The Parishad has asked the Revenue Department and A&N Administration to make processes such as subdivision, mutation, land diversion, mortgage, gift deeds and registration more citizen-friendly.
Employment-related demands include introduction of a Domicile Act providing 100 per cent job reservation for the Islands’ younger generation, on the lines of the arrangement cited by the organisation in Lakshadweep. It has also demanded employment opportunities for educated unemployed youth in various departments of the A&N Administration.
The memorandum calls for restoration of the earlier practice of Panchayati Raj Institutions awarding works in favour of cooperative societies and activation of the system relating to the funds, functions and functionaries of PRIs.
The Parishad has also demanded revival of operations at the abandoned Dalda Plantation at Netaji Nagar, Little Andaman, construction of suitable check dams based on drinking-water and other soft-water requirements, and arrangements for proper and uninterrupted power supply while safeguarding consumers’ interests.
On social security, the organisation has sought enhancement of existing pensions for senior citizens, widows, destitute persons and Divyangjans, with a proposed minimum of Rs. 5,000 per month for each category. It has also proposed introduction of a scheme similar to West Bengal’s Annapurna Yojana for financially vulnerable women in the Islands who have no stable source of income.
The memorandum concludes with a request to the Lieutenant Governor to consider the demands sympathetically and take action on matters falling within the jurisdiction of the Administration.
