{"id":34363,"date":"2026-02-19T09:33:59","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T04:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=34363"},"modified":"2026-02-19T11:43:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T06:13:10","slug":"great-nicobar-island-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/great-nicobar-island-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Nicobar Project: Balancing Strategic Imperatives and Environmental Concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Great Nicobar Project Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has approved the \u20b981,000-crore Great Nicobar infrastructure project, citing its strategic importance and finding that adequate environmental safeguards are in place.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The decision is significant as it may serve as a precedent for future strategically important projects in ecologically sensitive regions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 166 sq km mega project aims to develop Great Nicobar into a strategic and economic hub. However, it involves diversion of about 130 sq km of forest land and the felling of nearly one million trees, raising environmental concerns.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Overview of the Great Nicobar Project<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Great Nicobar Island, spanning 910 sq km and home to India\u2019s southernmost point, Indira Point, is set to be developed as a major economic and defence hub.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The project aims to transform the island into a strategic gateway in the Indo-Pacific region.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Four Core Components of the Project<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Integrated Township<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Covers around 149 sq km.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Will include residential, commercial, tourism, logistics, and defence facilities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Designed to anchor long-term economic and strategic activity on the island.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Transshipment Port<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Proposed at Galathea Bay, on the southern tip.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Intended to position India as a key maritime logistics hub.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Located in an ecologically sensitive area, known for Leatherback turtle nesting sites and the Galathea River outflow.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Civil and Military Airport<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dual-use international airport proposed east of the port.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Will be the second air facility after INS Baaz Naval Air Station.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Requires acquisition of 4.2 sq km of land, affecting 379 families.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Power Plant<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A 450-MVA gas and solar-based plant.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Occupies around 0.39 sq km.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Intended to ensure reliable energy supply for the township and associated infrastructure.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 29px; font-style: inherit;\">Land Use and Environmental Footprint<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Total project area: 166 sq km.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Forest diversion: Significant portions of ecologically sensitive land.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Land reclamation planned:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2.98 sq km for the port<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1.94 sq km for the airport<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Estimated material requirement: 33.35 million cubic metres, including cement, rocks, sand, and steel.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Implementation and Governance<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Initially conceptualised by NITI Aayog.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now being implemented by the Andaman and Nicobar Island Integrated Development Corporation Ltd (ANIIDCO).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pre-feasibility study prepared in 2021 by AECOM India Pvt Ltd.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Strategic Significance of the Great Nicobar Project<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Centre\u2019s push for the Great Nicobar project is anchored in three strategic drivers: geopolitics, maritime trade ambitions, and geographic advantage.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Geopolitical and Maritime Advantage<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Great Nicobar is India\u2019s closest territory to the Malacca Strait, a critical maritime chokepoint connecting the Indian and Pacific Oceans.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Around 94,000 ships pass through the Strait annually.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It accounts for nearly 30% of global traded goods and about one-third of the world\u2019s maritime oil trade.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This location gives India a strategic vantage point in Indo-Pacific maritime dynamics.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Transshipment Hub Ambition<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Expanding India\u2019s Port Capacity<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The proposed Galathea Bay transshipment port will transfer cargo from large vessels to smaller ones for onward distribution.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India currently has only one operational transshipment port at Vizhinjam, Kerala.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Competing with Regional Giants<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Nicobar port aims to compete with:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Colombo and Hambantota (Sri Lanka)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Port Klang (Malaysia)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Port of Singapore<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><b>Projected Capacity<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Estimated to handle 14.2 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) annually \u2014 roughly 14 million standard containers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 29px; font-style: inherit;\">Strengthening Defence Infrastructure<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Existing Military Presence<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Andaman and Nicobar Command, India\u2019s only tri-services command, has been operational in Port Blair since 2001.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">INS Baaz Naval Air Station is located at Campbell Bay, near the proposed township.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Integrated Defence Development<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Great Nicobar project includes defence infrastructure in its first construction phase.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ongoing upgrades across the islands include improved airfields, jetties, storage facilities, and surveillance systems.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><b style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 35px; font-style: inherit;\">Environmental and Social Concerns in Great Nicobar<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Great Nicobar mega project has triggered significant ecological and social concerns due to its scale and location in a fragile island ecosystem.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Large-Scale Forest Diversion<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The project involves diversion of 130 sq km of pristine forest and felling of over one million trees.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Nicobar Islands are part of the Sundaland biodiversity hotspot, one of the world\u2019s richest ecological zones.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Biosphere and Wildlife Concerns<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Almost the entire island falls under the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It hosts littoral forests, evergreen hill forests, and coastal wetlands.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Galathea Bay Wildlife Sanctuary<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and a <\/span><b>megapode sanctuary<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> were denotified for the project.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The endemic Nicobar megapode, a ground-dwelling bird, faces habitat loss.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Impact on Leatherback Turtles<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Galathea Bay is a key nesting site for leatherback turtles.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The environmental clearance acknowledges potential damage.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As mitigation, authorities proposed new sanctuaries on Little Nicobar, Menchal Island, and Meroe Island.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Impact on Indigenous Communities<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Shompen Tribe &#8211; <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Shompen, a semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer group of about 250 people, inhabit interior forests. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Limited contact with outsiders makes them highly vulnerable to disease and disruption.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Nicobarese Community<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; The Nicobarese live mainly in Campbell Bay settlements such as Rajiv Nagar and New Chingenh. Many were displaced by the 2004 tsunami. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their long-standing demand to return to pre-tsunami villages remains unresolved.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Tribal Governance Concerns<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; The tribal council has alleged pressure to surrender land claims. It previously withdrew consent for denotification of tribal reserves, citing lack of transparency about the project\u2019s scale.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b style=\"font-size: inherit;\">Demographic Transformation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; The island\u2019s population, currently around 8,500, is projected to rise to 6.5 lakh by 2050. Such a sharp increase could fundamentally alter the island\u2019s ecological balance and social fabric.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b style=\"font-size: inherit;\">Source:<\/b> <a style=\"font-size: inherit;\" href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/as-ngt-clears-great-nicobar-project-a-look-at-its-strategic-importance-and-ecological-fallout-10539365\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span>IE<\/span><\/a><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Great Nicobar Project receives NGT clearance despite environmental concerns. Explore its strategic importance, forest diversion impact, and geopolitical implications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":88656,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[5544,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-34363","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-great-nicobar-project","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34363"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88667,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34363\/revisions\/88667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}