Great Nicobar’s Mega Project: A Costly Gamble with Forests, Biodiversity, and Indigenous Rights

Published : Feb 12, 2025 08:08 IST - 15 MINS 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. 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. in national parks, sanctuaries, the tribal reserves and all other areas shall stand suspended” and b) “.there should first be compulsory afforestation/regeneration the felling permissions would be based upon the extent of regeneration of forest undertaken and not the other way round.” To now suggest that such massive tree-felling will take place in such a short time with no evidence of any afforestation or regeneration and that the timber will be burnt in power plants, leave alone the fact that part of land in Haryana has been handed over for quarrying, is a serious violation of the Supreme Court orders. A perusal of the history of this project, through articles published regularly in Frontline as well as in the recently curated The Great Nicobar Betrayal shows the casualness, apathy, and lack of rigour—whether in the quality of the environmental impact assessment process, concern for the rights of indigenous communities, the geological vulnerability of the place, or the cost escalations and their implications. In its “Final Report for Sagarmala” prepared for the MoPSW and the Indian Ports Association, AECOM along with its consultant partner McKinsey was categorical that no site in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, including Great Nicobar, was good enough for a transshipment port.