New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal has approved the Rs 80,000 crore Great Nicobar mega infrastructure project, stating that adequate safeguards are in place and that its strategic importance justifies proceeding. A special six member bench led by Justice Prakash Shrivastava declined to interfere with the environmental clearance granted in November 2022.
The decision followed the findings of a High Powered Committee constituted in 2023 to review earlier procedural gaps. The project, implemented by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation, is officially titled the Holistic Development of Great Nicobar Island and aims to transform the southernmost island of Great Nicobar Island into a maritime and strategic hub.
Spanning 166 square kilometres, roughly ten percent of the island’s area, the plan includes an International Container Transshipment Terminal at Galathea Bay, a greenfield international airport with dual civilian and military use, an integrated township designed for a projected population of 3.5 lakh, and a 450 MVA gas and solar power plant. Located near the Malacca Strait, a route handling nearly 40 percent of global trade, the project seeks to reduce India’s dependence on foreign transshipment ports and strengthen its Indo Pacific presence. The first port phase is targeted for completion by 2028.
Concerns raised by environmental groups include diversion of around 130 square kilometres of forest land, felling of nearly one million trees, risks to nesting sites of the Giant Leatherback sea turtle and habitats of the Nicobar Megapode, and the welfare of the Shompen and Nicobarese communities. Questions have also been raised about constructing major infrastructure in a high seismic zone affected by the 2004 tsunami.
The tribunal directed coral translocation, protection of sandy beaches and adherence to tribal welfare safeguards, concluding that the site does not fall within prohibited coastal regulation zones. However, forest clearance remains under review before the Calcutta High Court, and critics continue to voice ecological concerns.
