New Concerns Emerge Over ₹80,000 Crore Great Nicobar Project: Environmental & Policy Debates Intensify
3 weeks, 2 days ago

New Concerns Emerge Over ₹80,000 Crore Great Nicobar Project: Environmental & Policy Debates Intensify

The Hindu  

Published : Mar 03, 2025 18:04 IST - 1 MIN READ A series of developments and new information that has come to light in recent months have raised further questions about the planned Rs.80,000 crore mega infrastructure project on Great Nicobar Island. The NITI Aayog–piloted initiative has four components: a transshipment terminal in Galathea Bay, an airport, a greenfield township, and a tourism project and gas-powered power plant. One of the sources of new information is the minutes of a meeting held in Port Blair on October 4, 2024, under the chairmanship of the Managing Director of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation Ltd, the project proponent. To discuss, in detail, the contentious project, its environmental ramifications, and more, Frontline’s Divya Gandhi speaks to environmental researcher and author Pankaj Sekhsaria and environmental journalist and author M. Rajshekhar.

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History of this topic

Great Nicobar Project: Minister Jual Oram Denies Receiving Tribal Objections
1 week, 5 days ago

Great Nicobar Project: Minister Jual Oram Denies Receiving Tribal Objections

The Hindu  

Published : Mar 14, 2025 17:11 IST - 4 MINS READ During a Rajya Sabha debate on March 12, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Jual Oram denied receiving objections from the Tribal Council of Great Nicobar or activists regarding the controversial Great Nicobar development project. Responding to All India Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale, Oram claimed only 7.14 square kilometres …

Parliamentary panel to table Nicobar project report in July
2 weeks, 6 days ago

Parliamentary panel to table Nicobar project report in July

Hindustan Times  

A parliamentary panel will present findings on the implementation of India’s land acquisition law in regions affected by major infrastructure projects, including those in Great Nicobar and Lakshadweep, during the upcoming Parliament session in July. In Lakshadweep, stakeholders highlighted several issues, including diversion of land belonging to scheduled tribe populations, appropriation of “pandaram” lands previously leased to locals, new fishing …

Admin invites tenders for research stations at Great Nicobar sites
1 month ago

Admin invites tenders for research stations at Great Nicobar sites

Hindustan Times  

New Delhi: The Andaman and Nicobar Administration has started inviting tenders for infrastructure associated with the Great Nicobar mega infrastructure project. On February 3, the Andaman Public Works Department invited bids for setting up of “research stations for holistic development at Campbell Bay,” the administrative area of Great Nicobar and among the few inhabited areas on the island. Separately, the …

Great Nicobar Port Project: Economic and Strategic Justifications Under Scrutiny
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Great Nicobar Port Project: Economic and Strategic Justifications Under Scrutiny

The Hindu  

Published : Feb 12, 2025 08:23 IST - 22 MINS READ On the ground in Campbell Bay, the government’s promise to remake Great Nicobar into the Indian equivalent of Singapore, Hong Kong, or Macau is starting to feel imminent. As a Mumbai-based maritime consultant said: “Great Nicobar is not competing with just Singapore or Colombo’s ports but the cities around …

The Great Nicobar Project: A Mega Development or an Environmental Catastrophe?
1 month, 2 weeks ago

The Great Nicobar Project: A Mega Development or an Environmental Catastrophe?

The Hindu  

Published : Feb 11, 2025 21:22 IST - 3 MINS READ In the past 50 years—and increasingly in the last 10—the word development has assumed a plain and clear meaning. The Great Nicobar Island is being viewed as a similar piece of “beautiful” real estate, which must be developed into a “Macau”, a “Singapore”, even as its trees, creatures, and …

Great Nicobar project: Shipping Ministry proposes cruise terminal, high-end tourism infra
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Great Nicobar project: Shipping Ministry proposes cruise terminal, high-end tourism infra

The Hindu  

An international cruise terminal to facilitate a “global” port-led city, “high-end” tourism infrastructure, and a ship-breaking yard are among the new additions to the ₹72,000 crore mega-infrastructure project in Great Nicobar Island proposed by the Union Shipping Ministry, according to letters accessed by this writer. Apart from the cruise terminal, the Shipping Ministry has also sought 100 acres of land …

Nicobar report not public due to strategic info: Centre
3 months, 1 week ago

Nicobar report not public due to strategic info: Centre

Hindustan Times  

The report of the National Green Tribunal -appointed high-powered committee on the Great Nicobar mega infrastructure project has not been made public as it takes into account issues and facts related to the strategic, defence and national security of the country, the Union environment ministry has informed the Rajya Sabha. The green tribunal constituted the high-powered committee headed by the …

PM pushing Great Nicobar project despite evidence of disastrous ecological impact: Jairam Ramesh
4 months, 2 weeks ago

PM pushing Great Nicobar project despite evidence of disastrous ecological impact: Jairam Ramesh

New Indian Express  

NEW DELHI: Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Friday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "pushing" the Great Nicobar Integrated Development Project aggressively in the face of clear and mounting evidence of its "disastrous" ecological and humanitarian impacts. Ramesh, who is also a former Union environment minister, has been asserting that the present design of the Great Nicobar Island …

Wildlife nods spiked in 2023; Nicobar plan to cost over ₹81K crore
7 months, 2 weeks ago

Wildlife nods spiked in 2023; Nicobar plan to cost over ₹81K crore

Hindustan Times  

No objections were raised by the tribal communities against the Great Nicobar project during the “statutory period” for such feedback under the law, the Union government has submitted in parliament, a position that could be significant against the backdrop of Tribal Council of the Indian Ocean island announcing it had rescinded its permission for a controversial plan to carry out …

Rs.72,000 crore Megaproject for Great Nicobar Island Faces Criticism for Potentially Overlooking Environmental and Social Impacts
8 months, 1 week ago

Rs.72,000 crore Megaproject for Great Nicobar Island Faces Criticism for Potentially Overlooking Environmental and Social Impacts

The Hindu  

Published : Jul 19, 2024 13:22 IST - 4 MINS READ In August 2021, AECOM India Pvt. Ltd, a multinational consultancy firm, prepared a “holistic planning framework for developing Great Nicobar Island.” The report was prepared as part of a consultancy assignment by the NITI Aayog to assist its vision for the “Holistic Development of Great Nicobar Island” that entails …

NITI Aayog’s tourism project will be tremendously destructive to Great Nicobar, says Pankaj Sekhsaria in new book
8 months, 3 weeks ago

NITI Aayog’s tourism project will be tremendously destructive to Great Nicobar, says Pankaj Sekhsaria in new book

The Hindu  

Speaking about his new book The Great Nicobar Betrayal, published by Frontline, Pankaj Sekhsaria on Wednesday said that NITI Aayog’s soon-to-be-launched tourism and real estate project is a “tremendously destructive” threat to the Great Nicobar island’s ecology and indigenous population. “The present government has gone to great lengths to denotify certain stretches of the island previously marked as protected areas …

Congress demands suspension of environment clearance given to Nicobar project
9 months, 1 week ago

Congress demands suspension of environment clearance given to Nicobar project

Hindustan Times  

The Congress has demanded the immediate suspension of all environment and forest clearances granted for the proposed “Holistic Development of Great Nicobar Island in Andaman & Nicobar Islands” on the grounds that it is a “grave threat to the region’s tribal communities and natural ecosystem”. In a statement issued on Monday, member of Parliament and Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh …

Congress demands withdrawal of clearances to Great Nicobar infrastructure project
9 months, 1 week ago

Congress demands withdrawal of clearances to Great Nicobar infrastructure project

The Hindu  

The Congress party on June 17 demanded the withdrawal of clearances and a ground-up review of the ₹72,000 crore infrastructure project, being championed by the National Democratic Alliance government, at the Great Nicobar Island. The Great Nicobar Project, as it is called, involves developing a trans-shipment port, an international airport, township development, and a 450 MVA gas and solar-based power …

L&T, Afcons, JSW vie for Nicobar project
1 year, 11 months ago

L&T, Afcons, JSW vie for Nicobar project

Live Mint  

Larsen and Toubro Ltd, Afcons Infrastructure Ltd and JSW Infrastructure Ltd are among companies competing to build the ₹42,000 crore-International Container Transshipment Terminal in Great Nicobar, two people aware of the development said, even as the project faces environmental hurdles. Union minister of ports, shipping and waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said in an interview that the project would not impact the …

Take a holistic view of the Nicobar project
1 year, 11 months ago

Take a holistic view of the Nicobar project

Hindustan Times  

The Great Nicobar Project has come to exemplify a fractious ongoing national debate between strategic and economic imperative on one side, and long-term climate and environmental sustainability on the other. The ₹75,000 crore project, which includes a shipping terminal, power project and township, builds on previously untested economic potential in a geostrategic spot close to major shipping lines, but risks …

NGT constitutes high-powered committee to revisit environmental nod granted to Great Nicobar Island project
1 year, 11 months ago

NGT constitutes high-powered committee to revisit environmental nod granted to Great Nicobar Island project

The Hindu  

The eastern bench of the National Green Tribunal has ordered a stay on the ₹72,000 crore Great Nicobar Island project and constituted a committee to revisit the environmental clearance granted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The Great Nicobar Island is a mega project to be implemented at the southern end of the Andaman and Nicobar islands. …

Great Nicobar project will not evict tribes, says Centre
1 year, 11 months ago

Great Nicobar project will not evict tribes, says Centre

The Hindu  

Displacement of tribespeople will not be allowed to make room for the ₹72,000 crore Great Nicobar island project, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs told the Rajya Sabha on March 29. However, the Tribal Affairs Ministry said that the utilisation of tribal reserve area will be subject to the interests of the local tribespeople living in the area, especially the Shompen …

Former civil servants write to President on Great Nicobar island plan
2 years, 2 months ago

Former civil servants write to President on Great Nicobar island plan

The Hindu  

The Constitutional Conduct Group, which includes nearly 100 former civil servants, has written to President Droupadi Murmu protesting the government’s push for a mega-infrastructure project in the Great Nicobar island. of forest in Great Nicobar island for a ₹72,000-crore project that includes a trans-shipment port, an airport, a power plant and a greenfield township. The area is nearly 15% of …

A Rs.72,000-crore disaster
2 years, 2 months ago

A Rs.72,000-crore disaster

The Hindu  

Published : Jan 16, 2023 18:31 IST Dear Reader, Ever Googled ‘Nicobar’? Great Nicobar, located on the southern tip of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, is the focus of what is being called a ‘holistic development’ plan. The Rs.72,000 crore project, to be implemented over the next 30 years, has received in-principle environment clearance and it spells doom for this …

Proposed infrastructure project in Great Nicobar Island a mega folly
2 years, 2 months ago

Proposed infrastructure project in Great Nicobar Island a mega folly

The Hindu  

Published : Jan 12, 2023 10:30 IST In a series of developments that have unfolded with uncharacteristic speed and coordination over the past two years, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has cleared the decks for a mega infrastructure project in Great Nicobar Island situated at the southern tip of the Andaman and Nicobar Island group in the …

Massive infrastructure project proposed by Central government threatens Great Nicobar Island
2 years, 5 months ago

Massive infrastructure project proposed by Central government threatens Great Nicobar Island

The Hindu  

Published : Oct 20, 2022 10:20 IST At the southernmost extent of India, off the eastern coast, Great Nicobar Island is a tropical oasis in the Andaman Sea. Protected status stripped Last year, large swathes of land and coastal area, including portions of the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve and Galathea Bay, were stripped of their protected status to make way …

UN body asks India to respond on concerns around mega projects in the Andamans
2 years, 8 months ago

UN body asks India to respond on concerns around mega projects in the Andamans

The Hindu  

Published : Jul 22, 2022 19:18 IST The Central government is going ahead with two mega development projects in the eco-sensitive Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which environmentalists say pose a grave threat to the ecology of the islands and also endanger the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups inhabiting these islands. The two mega development projects, to be completed by 2050, are …

‘Inaccuracies, procedural violations’ in Great Nicobar draft environment impact assessment report
3 years, 2 months ago

‘Inaccuracies, procedural violations’ in Great Nicobar draft environment impact assessment report

The Hindu  

The details of the recently released draft environment impact assessment report for the mega development project in the Great Nicobar Island have raised serious questions related to submission of incorrect or incomplete information, scientific inaccuracy and failure to follow appropriate procedure. The EIA says in another place no migratory birds have been reported from Great Nicobar, whereas it is well …

Green panel allows Great Nicobar plan to advance
3 years, 10 months ago

Green panel allows Great Nicobar plan to advance

The Hindu  

The Environment Appraisal Committee - Infrastructure I of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has flagged serious concerns about NITI Aayog’s ambitious project for Great Nicobar Island. The EAC was responding to the 126 page ‘pre-feasibility’ report, ‘Holistic Development of Great Nicobar Island at Andaman and Nicobar Islands’, prepared for the NITI Aayog by the Gurugram-based consulting agency …

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