Union Minister Defends Environmental Clearances for Great Nicobar Project
Summary
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has defended the environmental and forest clearances granted to the ₹72,000-crore Great Nicobar Island mega project, rejecting allegations of regulatory bypass raised by former minister Jairam Ramesh.
●The project, spearheaded by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO), includes an international transshipment terminal, an international airport, a power plant, and a township.
●Yadav asserted that the clearances strictly adhered to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, and the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, emphasizing strategic and economic imperatives alongside mandated ecological safeguards and compensatory afforestation measures.
Environmental Law & Institutions
This sub-topic has appeared in 7 UPSC Prelims questions.
The Great Nicobar Island project is a strategic mega-infrastructure initiative near the Malacca Strait, a critical global shipping choke point.
●Implemented by ANIIDCO, the ₹72,000-crore project requires diverting approximately 130 sq km of pristine tropical forest.
●This raises ecological concerns regarding endemic species like the Nicobar Megapode and Leatherback turtle, alongside impacts on the indigenous Shompen and Nicobarese tribes.
●The MoEFCC granted environmental and forest clearances under the EIA Notification 2006, mandating compensatory afforestation in Haryana.
●The ongoing debate highlights the tension between strategic maritime infrastructure development and preserving ecologically fragile island ecosystems.
●The key takeaway is that strategic island infrastructure projects require rigorous adherence to EIA frameworks to balance geopolitical interests with the protection of vulnerable tribal populations and endemic biodiversity.
Factual Pointers
Practice · 1 question
Which of the following tribal communities are indigenous to the Great Nicobar Island and are directly impacted by the proposed mega-infrastructure project?