Nrsc Maps 1,300 Islands With 34 Key Attributes

BENGALURU: The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (Isro) National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) has identified and mapped more than 1,300 islands and submitted the report to the government, which is expected to use the information for holistic planning and development, including putting in place infrastructure for strategic reasons.

A senior department of space (DoS) official told TOI earlier this month: “…NRSC has found around 34 attributes and important schematic layers such as land use, geomorphology, lithium, groundwater prospects etc in 1,382 islands. The Prime Minister took a review at a high-level meeting in 2016 and it has been decided that in the first phase around 26 islands will be taken up for holistic development.”

Another source said the project was taken up after PM Narendra Modi took interest in the matter, while the first official said that development of 10 of the 26 will be led by the Niti Aayog, while the remaining will be carried out by other stakeholders.

“…It has been decided that out of all the islands some of them were identified by Niti Aayog for development. The work on that has begun. The Niti Aayog will provide theoretical plans while implementation will be done by various ministries,” VK Saraswat, member, Niti Aayog said.

He added that the idea is for a holistic development that will take into consideration ecological, economical and strategic aspects.
The DoS official said that the information from NRSC is a part of the Island Information System (IIS) that has been submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

As reported by TOI earlier, the MHA, having realised the advantages of space science, and based on recommendations of a special task force, has envisaged a multi-faceted project with special focus on island development and security for strategic purposes besides a host of other applications for national security.

Among other things, the panel has recommended that Isro help with enhancing border surveillance, border infrastructure monitoring, providing GIS and operation planning system and communication and navigation.

The MHA has earmarked Rs 280 crore for the first phase. “This project will strengthen island and border security by providing observation, communication and navigation capability to border guarding and internal security forces in remote areas. It will also help MHA in planning and monitoring of development of border and island infrastructure,” the panel feels.

Also, as per information made available by the ministry of tourism, “Holistic Development of identified islands taken by Niti Aayog has resulted in Master plans for sustainable development of four islands — Long, Aves, Smith and Ross — of Andaman & Nicobar and five islands of Lakshadweep namely Bangaram, Cheriyam, Minicoy, Suheli and Thinnakara have been prepared.”

Multiple tourism-based projects have also been mooted in the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands. And the newly-created Island Development Agency (IDA) is working on implementation of several projects.

Source: ToI