The National Green Tribunal gave a green light to Centre’s Rs 90,000-crore-plus Great Nicobar infrastructure project on Monday, concluding that the environmental clearance granted in 2022 was backed by sufficient safeguards and there was no “good ground to interfere.“ A bench of the tribunal dismissed a series of petitions that had questioned the validity of the clearance issued by the Union environment ministry. It observed that the concerns raised had already been scrutinised by a high-powered committee formed in 2023 to re-examine the approval.While allowing the project to proceed, the tribunal stressed that authorities must ensure “full and strict compliance with the EC conditions”. “We find adequate safeguards in the EC conditions. The remaining issues flagged earlier have been addressed by the High-Powered Committee. Given the project’s strategic importance, we see no ground to interfere,” the NGT ruled, as cited by ET. The tribunal had earlier, in April 2023, upheld the environmental clearance on multiple counts and constituted the high-powered panel to consider outstanding issues, ET reported. The bench also highlighted the strategic benefits of “strong presence in Indian Ocean region to counter the pressure being built by foreign powers growing presence… (and) capturing the strategic location to develop a new economic hub in Indian Ocean region.”The project, planned near Galathea Bay on Great Nicobar Island, envisages the construction of a container transshipment port, a dual-use civil-military airport and an integrated township spanning 166 sq km. It requires the diversion of around 130 sq km of forest land on the island, which is recognised globally as a biodiversity hotspot and supports species including the Nicobar megapode, leatherback turtle and Nicobar macaque. The order quoted, “The area is located in China’s ‘string of pearls’ strategy which is sought to be countered by Indian authorities under India’s ‘Act East’ policy. Indian Ocean has emerged as a key intersection zone of Indian and Chinese strategic interests.”A pre-feasibility report prepared in March 2021 says the project is aimed at strengthening national security and boosting India’s position in the Indian Ocean region.The island lies along a key east–west shipping route and is almost equally distant from Colombo, Port Klang and Singapore, which makes it strategically important.
