Great Nicobar Island:
The proposed Rs 80,000 crore mega infrastructure project on Great Nicobar Island (GNI) has raised serious concerns among environmental activists.
- The project, spearheaded by NITI Aayog, includes a transshipment terminal in Galathea Bay, an greenfield airport, a greenfield township, and a tourism project with a gas-powered plant.
- The project will destroy 130 sq km of primary tropical rainforest, leading to biodiversity loss and ecological imbalance.
Initial estimates of tree cutting (8.65–9.64 lakh) have been found to be significantly lower than actual numbers, potentially exceeding 10 million trees. - The project threatens species like the nesting leatherback sea turtle in Galathea Bay Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS).
- The Galathea Bay WLS, designated for marine turtle conservation in 1997, was denotified in 2021 for the port, contradicting India’s Marine Turtle Action Plan (2021).
- The diversion of pristine Nicobar forests is being “compensated” by land in Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, which does not replicate the biodiversity lost.
- The coastline falls under Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ 1a), making ship-repair and other industrial activities a threat to marine ecosystems.
