Environmental path cleared for Great Nicobar mega project

Environmental path cleared for Great Nicobar mega project

Subject : Environment

Context

Introduction-

• The expert appraisal committee of the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has recommended the grant of environmental and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance for a big infrastructure and tourism project in Great Nicobar Island that will lead to the diversion of 15 per cent of its forest area and the felling of 8.52 lakh (852,000) trees in phases.
• The project is being spearheaded by Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation under a vision plan conceived by the NITI Aayog.
• The island, mostly covered by forests, has not witnessed large-scale human activity so far.

Project and its timeline–

• The main components of the Rs. 75,000 crore (Rs. 750 billion) project are an International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT), with the capacity to handle 14.2 million TEUs (unit of cargo capacity) eventually, a greenfield international airport handling a peak hour traffic of 4,000 passengers both ways, a township and gas and solar power plant.
• The airport would be “developed as a joint military-civil, dual-use airport, under the operational control of the Indian Navy.
• The first phase would extend to 2036 (from 2021), and the second phase would stretch from 2037 to 2051, but the container terminal would become operational around 2027-28.
• A total of 166 square kilometres will be earmarked for development.

Conditions imposed

• The EAC has imposed specific conditions for wildlife conservation and tribal welfare mainly plans to do with leatherback sea turtles,Nicobar megapodes,saltwater crocodiles and several other species, as well as mangrove restoration,coral translocation and welfare of the local Shompen and Nicobari tribal population.
• The committee noted that three new wildlife sanctuaries had been identified at Little Nicobar (14 square kilometres, for protecting leatherback turtles), Menchal (1.3 square kilometres, for megapodes) and Meroe Islands (2.8 square kilometres, for corals).

Biodiversity of the Island–

• Over 95 per cent of the 911-square-kilometre Great Nicobar island is made up of national parks, protected forests and tribal reserve areas.
• The Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve covers much of the largely unspoilt island.
• The reserve encompasses two national parks. One of them is the Campbell Bay National Park, and the other is Galathea National Park.
• Forests and dense vegetation cover almost all of the island.

Will the project poses danger to the environment of the Island?

• A long strip of the island predominantly covered by forests has been chosen for the implementation of the project. About 122 square kilometres of the 166 square kilometre project area is made up of forests, and nearly 9 square kilometres, are deemed forests.
• The northern tip of the project area falls well within the biosphere reserve, which means that about 71 square kilometres of the biosphere reserve area would also have to be earmarked for it.
• Galathea Bay, a major nesting site for leatherback turtles, was home to the Galathea Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.
• It was stripped off of its protected status and denotified recently.
• The central components of the project, the ICTT and the international airport are to be constructed in this part of the island.
• The Galathea National Park adjoining the project area will be largely left without a buffer zone.

Though a large part of the immediate project areas adjoining the park has been earmarked for ‘eco-tourism’ where ‘major’ construction projects will not be allowed, the park area is likely to be exposed to the fallout of the large-scale construction and dredging activity that will ensue – about 421 hectares (4.21 square kilometres) of land is to be reclaimed for the port and airport.