GS Paper III
News Excerpt:
The opposition party and Conservationist has described the proposed Rs 72,000-crore infrastructure development on Great Nicobar Island as a “grave threat” to the indigenous inhabitants and the island’s delicate ecosystem.
About Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- The Andaman and Nicobar Islands comprise 836 islands, divided into the Andaman Islands to the north and the Nicobar Islands to the south by the 150-km wide Ten Degree Channel.
- Great Nicobar, the southernmost and largest of the Nicobar Islands, spans 910 square kilometers of primarily tropical rainforest in the southeastern Bay of Bengal.
- Indira Point, India’s southernmost tip, lies only 90 nautical miles (less than 170 km) from Sabang, at the northern tip of Sumatra, the largest island in Indonesia.
- The island is home to two national parks, a biosphere reserve, small populations of the Shompen and Nicobarese tribes, and a few thousand non-tribal settlers.
Development Plans
- India aims to develop Great Nicobar through a three-phase, 30-year project, which has faced continuous criticism from conservationists, wildlife biologists, naturalists, and some local tribal councils.
- The project, managed by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO).
- This project includes an International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT), a greenfield international airport with a peak hour capacity of 4,000 passengers, a township, and a gas and solar-based power plant spread across 16,610 hectares.
Strategic and Security Concerns
- The Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean region are critical to India’s strategic and security interests, especially as China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy seeks to expand in the area.
- India is wary of Chinese maritime forces at Indo-Pacific choke points like Malacca, Sunda, and Lombok.
- China’s expansion efforts include a military facility on the Coco Islands (Myanmar), just 55 km north of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
- Recently, the Indian army upgraded its military infrastructure in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, including enhanced airfields, jetties, logistics, storage facilities, and surveillance infrastructure.
- These upgrades aim to support additional military forces, larger warships, aircraft, missile batteries, and troops, ensuring close surveillance and strong military deterrence in the region.
Significance of this project
- The project’s "holistic development" plan emerged from a NITI Aayog report, which highlighted the strategic potential of the island, equidistant from Colombo (Sri Lanka), Port Klang (Malaysia), and Singapore.
- Its proximity to the Malacca Strait, a crucial waterway connecting the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, positions the ICTT to enhance Great Nicobar’s role in the regional and global maritime economy.
- A planned “greenfield city” will capitalize on both the maritime and tourism potential of the island.
- The proposed ICTT and power plant site is at Galathea Bay on the southeastern corner of Great Nicobar, an uninhabited area.
Environmental Issue
- Critics, including wildlife conservation researchers, anthropologists, and civil society groups, argue that the project endangers the Shompen tribe, a vulnerable group of hunter-gatherers with a population of a few hundred living in a tribal reserve on the island.
- They claim the project violates tribal rights and threatens the island’s ecology, with nearly a million trees at risk.
- There are also concerns about the port project damaging coral reefs, affecting the local marine ecosystem, and threatening species like the Nicobar Megapode bird and leatherback turtles in Galathea Bay.
- Experts also highlighted the seismic risks, noting the proposed port is in a zone that experienced significant subsidence during the 2004 tsunami.
Environmental and Forest clearances
- The project received in-principle forest and environmental clearances in October 2022, and a detailed project report has been prepared.
- In November 2022, the tribal council revoked a no-objection certificate for diverting about 160 sq km of forest land, citing inadequate information.
- In April 2023, the Kolkata Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) upheld the environmental and forest clearances for the project but ordered the formation of a high-power committee to review the clearances.
- An appeal against the NGT’s order was dismissed in 2023.
- The union government is expected to invite bids for the initial phase of terminal construction soon.
Conclusion
- The Great Nicobar project underscores a significant strategic imperative for India but it also raises critical environmental and indigenous concerns.
- Balancing national security interests and regional economic potential with ecological preservation and tribal rights should be the top most priority of the government.
