Great Nicobar Mega-Project: India’s Strategic Gateway

Context

Great Nicobar Island development is a planned mega project in India of ₹91,000 crore to construct a transshipment port, international airport, a power plant and a greenfield township at Galathea Bay. 

Core Components of the Project

The GNI master plan is an integrated mega-project consisting of four pillars, all of which are interdependent and interdependent, aiming to make the island one of the world’s most prominent economic and shipping hubs:

• Galathea Bay Transshipment Port: A mega container terminal to intercept transshipment traffic from the international sea lanes transiting through the Malacca Strait.
• International Dual-Use Airport: An airport designed for dual commercial and naval/air force use.
• Gas and Solar Power Plant: 450 MWA hybrid power plant for self-sufficiency of the upcoming infrastructure.
• Greenfield Smart Township: Planned urban area for trade, tourism and a forecast of more than 300,000 people.

Strategic & Economic Rationale

• The dual use airport and port will be only 40 nautical miles from the East-West international shipping route in the vicinity of Malacca strait and will enhance the reach and maritime surveillance capabilities of the Indian Navy and Air Force. 
• The transshipment terminal will draw cargo volumes from overseas ports like Colombo and Singapore to save billions of foreign rupees for Sri Lanka — known as port-led Growth. 
• The 30-year stage-wise development is to promote investments in the maritime sector, tourism and to integrate the area into the wider economy of BIMSTEC.

Ecological Concerns

• Biodiversity Loss: The island also lies in one of the biodiversity hot spots of the Sundaland with a rich and endemic ecosystem, including nesting sites for Leatherback turtle and Nicobar megapode. 
• Deforestation: Critics and environmental groups cite the wholesale destruction of thick tropical evergreen forests that they believe will irrevocably change the island’s delicate ecology. 
• Mitigation Claims: Out of 66 sq km it will be preserved as inviolate green zones and the government has instructed compensatory measures like creation of three new wildlife sanctuaries on neighbouring islands to be implemented to compensate for the loss. 

Indigenous Rights & Legal Scrutiny

• Tribal Protection: Part of the project area is occupied by denotified tribal reserves of Shompen and Nicobarese tribes, which has led to concerns regarding their displacement and the conservation of PVTGs, including the Shompen. 
• Environmentalists and indigenous rights activists have been highly critical of the clearances, arguing that they breach the limits in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), forest regulations and the absence of cumulative biodiversity impact statements. 
• Tribal Consent: The government has been accused of pressuring indigenous groups to sign over their ancestral land; however, the indigenous reserves will not be affected and the government says they will not forcibly remove indigenous groups. 

Conclusion and Way Forward

The Great Nicobar Island project is illustrative of the classic dilemma faced by the Environment and Strategic Necessity vs. Financial Prudence. India has to be a balance to achieve a sustainable future. This will involve strict environmental mitigation measures, as well as conducting a clear social impact assessment for the Shompen tribe and maximising military assets while minimising the commercial viability of over-inflated structures. It is not possible to secure strategic security at the expense of ecological and financial security. 

Source: The Hindu

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