The proposed Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation of 2021 (LDAR) is highly problematic and will work against existing legal provisions that safeguard the resilience of Lakshadweep’s ecology, livelihood and culture, say a group of scientists from different institutions who have worked on the islands for years.

The Lakshadweep Research Collective along with 60 other signatories from the scientific community have written to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking his intervention to withdraw the “incautious draft”, a statement on Thursday read.