New Delhi: National Green Tribunal has sought a response from the Centre and others in a matter regarding the alleged diversion and allotment of protected forest land for non-forestry purposes in Nicobar district. The tribunal also stayed police action against a forest officer who had reportedly flagged such allotment. It sought a response from the respondents, which include the Centre and authorities in the Union territory of Andaman and Nicobar. The petitioner has also sought a declaration that local regulations, such as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956, do not override the requirement of central approval for forest land diversion. The plea further seeks a direction to the MoEFCC to conduct an inquiry into all such allotments in the Nicobar district made after 1980 and to restore any forest land found to be illegally diverted.