Project Great Nicobar

Arnab Banerjee

Great Nicobar (7.0346°N, 93.7842°E) is the southernmost and the largest island among the Nicobar Islands Archipelago. The island’s 1,03,870 hectares of unique tropical evergreen forest has a very rich ecosystem which includes 650 species of angiosperms, ferns, gymnosperms and bryophytes among others. In terms of fauna, there are over 1800 species, some of which are endemic to this area. Apart from the settlers, Nicobarese (about 300 in number) and the Mongoloid Shompen Tribe are the inhabitants of this sparsely populated island.

Indira Point (India’s southernmost point) on this island is just 90 nautical miles (<170 km) away from Sabang at the northern tip of Sumatra, the largest of the Indonesian archipelago. The island is also close to the Strait of Malacca, the main waterway that connects the Indian Ocean to the Pacific.

Launched in 2021, The Great Nicobar Island (GNI) project includes developing of an International Container Trans-shipment Terminal (ICTT), a Greenfield international airport (dual-use military-civil facility), a township and a 450 MVA gas and solar-based power plant on the island.

The project, aimed at positioning the region as a critical node in global trade and logistics, was taken up after a NITI Aayog report had identified the advantageous position of the island (approximately equidistant from Colombo in Sri Lanka to the southwest and Port Klang of Malaysia and Singapore to the southeast). Spread over 166 sq. km, this mega infrastructure project is being implemented by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO). Galathea Bay on the southeastern corner of the island is the site proposed for the ICTT.

On 20th December, 2024 the Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor announced that the project has entered the final phase before execution. With Great Nicobar all set to turn into a hub of economic activity, fears loom over Ecologists and Environment experts. This development project is being considered as a death sentence for the Shompen as it might destroy their natural habitat. The Shompens, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) have been living in the northeastern, western, southern and central regions of the island for centuries, pursuing their semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer way of life. The construction activities will disrupt their social structure by forcing the Shompen community of the southern region to move upwards. There also remains a high chance for the Shompens to get exposed to diseases. Uncontacted peoples do not have immunity to outside diseases like flu and measles which can even wipe them out.

The power-plant, proposed under the four inter-linked projects is closest to the habitat of the Shompens, particularly the ones’ who reside in the southern part of the island. Therefore, a provision of geo-fencing (barbed wires) and installation of surveillance towers have been suggested for their safety and protection. Manish Chandi, an eminent social ecologist has criticized this provision of geo-fencing, emphasizing its brutish nature. The Nicobarese have also expressed their annoyance regarding the project. The tribal people, particularly the Shompens has an organic relation with the forest. They collect almost everything for their livelihood from the forest. After denotifying the Galathea Bay as a protected area in 2021 and acquiring the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s (MoEFCC) stage-I forest clearance in October 2022, the project is all set to procure 16,610 hectares of land including forests, eventually leading to the cutting of approximately 9,64,000 trees (actual number could be much higher). However, the local Tribal Council withdrew its No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the diversion of the forest land in November 2022 citing the reason that they were not consulted properly. However, Environment Minister BhupendraYadav in August, 2024 had clarified that the project would neither disturb nor displace tribes people and it had received environmental clearances based on rigorous environmental scrutiny and after the incorporation of consequent safeguards.

Ecologists also warn of the effect on the Galathea Bay on the south-eastern side of the island, the nesting place for giant leatherback sea turtles for centuries. The bay is also home to salt water crocodiles and nesting and breeding ground for several other species including giant robber crabs.

However an ANIIDCO affidavit filed before the National Green Tribunal in August 2024 cited the recent findings of the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) which concluded that the project no longer fell in a no-go fragile coastal zone. The ICTT will be constructed in a Coastal Regulation Zone 1B area of the Galathea Bay, where no evidence of turtle nesting has been found. The geographic reality of the Nicobar Islands Archipelago antagonizes this kind of mega development projects. For this reason, techno-economic feasibility of such adventurism requires careful exploration. Successful implementation of this project depends solely on adopting disaster-resilient designs. Also, it is very important to formulate a comprehensive strategy for the prevention and management of disasters/ natural calamities not only to safeguard the seventy-two thousand crores (actual cost may soar up) of investment but also the lives of the inhabitants, thsettlers and other stake holders.

With this multi-billion dollar development project, India aims to emerge as a major player in cargo transshipment. This project is also a part of India’s larger goal to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region. India is particularly concerned about the possibility of China building up its naval forces at important choke points- Malacca, Sunda, and Lombok Straits. Hence, the balance of security aspirations of the Government of India is natural but at the same time, conscientious objection to this militant developmentality is also just.

Arguing in line with John Rawls, an American political philosopher in the modern liberal tradition, it can be said that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override an individual’s inviolability founded on justice. Therefore, unfreedom of some can never be made right by ensuring greater good of the others as it violates the notion of equal citizenship and the liberties enjoyed by the citizens. It is considered as settled in a just society.

While considering the compatibility of such mega projects, it should be taken into account whether anyone’s legitimate expectations are being severely disappointed or not. If that be then the project must undergo a careful scrutiny, regardless of its strong potentials to change the Nicobar Islands for- ever in ways unimaginable through its emergence as a ‘Global Port-Led City’. Even though the entire project would take 30 long years to finish, experts feel anxious about how it may irreversibly alter the delicate balance between the environment and the lives of the island’s indigenous people which in turn might put a big question mark on their survival.

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Frontier
Vol 57, No. 50, June 8 - 14, 2025