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Great Nicobar Island

Posted 27 Jul 2024

6 min read

Why in the News?

NITI Ayog prepared a Draft Report on Social Impact Assessment (SIA) Study for Greenfield International Airport – Great Nicobar. 

More about the News

  • It is a part of proposed “Holistic Development of Great Nicobar Island (GNI) in Andaman and Nicobar Islands” project.
  • Key-findings of the report
    • Positive Impact
      • Increase in economic, employment and business opportunities.
      • Land value will increase once the area gets developed.
    • Negative Impact
      • Loss of productive land for agriculture and own land for dwelling units.
      • More influx of outside population and loss of privacy.
Description: A map of the island of andaman and nicobar islands

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About Great Nicobar Island (GNI)

  • GNI, with an area of 910 sq.km is one of the largest islands of the Andaman & Nicobar archipelago.
    • The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a group of 836 islands on the Bay of Bengal.
  • Location: It is located in the southernmost tip of the Nicobar group of islands (520 km from Port Blair).
    • The Indira Point, earlier known as Pygmalion Point, lies at the tip of the GNI and is the southernmost point of the country.
  • Headquarter: Campbell Bay
  • Ecological Characteristics:
    • Tropical wet evergreen forests, mountain ranges reaching a height of 642 m (Mt. Thullier) and coastal plains.
    • Fauna: Crab-eating Macaque, Nicobar Tree Shrew, Dugong, Nicobar Megapode, Serpent Eagle, salt water crocodile, marine turtles etc.
    • Flora: Cyathea albosetacea (tree fern), Phalaenopsis speciosa(orchid), gymnosperms, bryophytes and lichens etc.
    • Ecological Landscape:  Great Nicobar Biosphere reserveCampbell Bay National Park and Galathea National Park.
    • GNI was included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves as part of the Man and Biosphere Programme of UNESCO in 2013.
  • Socio-Economics Characteristics:
    • Important Tribes: Mongoloid (Shompen, Nicobarese).
    • The settlers and mainlanders, which number over 8 000, live along the southeast coast of the island, practising agriculture, horticulture and fishing.

About the “Holistic Development of Great Nicobar Island (GNI) in Andaman and Nicobar(A&N) Islands” Project

  • The project is proposed by A & N Administration under the guidance of Govt. of India and NITI Aayog.
  • The project was granted in-principal forest clearance and environmental clearance in 2022.
  • Implementation Agency: Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO) (incorporated under the Companies Act 1956).
  • As a part of Integrated Development, the following projects are proposed:

International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT)

  • Location: At Galathea Bay on the International Trade Route, in proximity with existing transhipment terminals like Singapore, Klang and Colombo.
  • Natural depth of 20m.
  • Proposed Handling Capacity: 14.2 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU).

Green Field International Airport

  • Location: Shastri Nagar and Gandhi Nagar villages of Campbell Bay taluk of Nicobar district.
  • Handling capacity: 4000 Passengers in Peak Hour

Township and Area Development

  • The broad category of land uses proposed in the concept master plan are Residential, Commercial Mixed use, Institutional, eco-tourism, coastal tourism, logistics etc.

Power Plant

  • It is crucial, since GNI gets most of its electricity from diesel generators.
  • Aim is to provide good quality, reliable electrical energy without interruptions.
  • Broad Power Demand:450 Mega Volt Ampere (MVA)
    • Additional 45 MVA from solar power will be included in total power generation.
  • Power Generation Resources: Diesel Generating power plant, Gas Power Plant, Solar Power plant.

Need for Project and Its Importance

  • Strategic Location: Indira Point is about 25-40 km from the major international sea route which carries about 20-25% of global sea trade and 35% of world oil supplies. 
    • This strategic location presents immense opportunities to further strengthen India’s trading position in the world by developing an ICTT.
    • Currently, nearly 75% of India’s transhipped cargo is handled at ports outside India. Colombo, Singapore and Klang handle more than 85% of this cargo.
  • Counter foreign power consolidation: As with respect to military expansion and port creation, foreign powers have increased its activities in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). For instance, China’s String of Pearls to encircle India.
  • Improving Connectivity: At present there is very limited connectivity of the GNI with the Indian mainland and other global cities. The prime modes of travel are shipping and helicopter.
    • Thus, need for setting up of a large Greenfield airport with a much greater capacity than the existing one (INS Baaz Indian Naval Air Station).
  • Promoting sustainable tourism: To attract high-end tourists interested in tropical forests, adventure tourism, beach tourism, water sports as scuba diving etc. 
    • The Green Airport Project will put A&N on the global tourist destinations map due to proximity with upcoming Senang City, the Phuket Island and Langkawi Island etc.
  • Environmental concerns:
    • Loss of top soil in the construction areas.
    • Sewage waste generation at power plant site pollute the adjacent water bodies,
    • Mangroves on the eastern flank will be affected due to port construction.
    • Artificial illumination on the beach can affect the sea turtle nesting and hatchlings.
  • Threat to fauna: ICTT which is expected to be developed at Galathea Bay, one of the world’s largest nesting sites for the leatherback turtle.
    • Both the leatherback turtle and the Nicobar megapode, species listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, face critical threats from this development.
  • Social: In 2022, the Tribal Council of Great Nicobar and Little Nicobar withdrawn its No-Objection certificate (NOC) for the project due to the administration’s lack of transparency and the hasty consent process from tribal communities.
    • A portion of the land identified as “uninhabited” in the NITI Aayog plan is ancestral territory for the Great Nicobarese people.
  • Health: The Shompen, who have had limited contact with the outside world, remain highly vulnerable to infectious diseases.
    • The proposed transshipment terminal overlaps with Shompen community areas, posing risks to their health and survival.
  • Natural Disaster Vulnerability: A&N are situated in a high-risk seismic zone, raising fears that the development could lead to catastrophic environmental consequences.

Way forward

Mitigation Measures Suggested in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report:

  • The planning will be in accordance with landscape planning concepts to ecogniz major landscape changes.
  • During the breading seasons of leather back turtles i.e. between November to February construction activities on the offshore to be halted.
  • Sodium vapor lights should be used for lightings, as sea turtles are less affected by it.
  • Implement Integrated Solid waste management system has been planned in GNI development
  • Strict measures will be adopted to ensure that none of the worker ever trespasses the Shompen area.
  • Implement Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 for displaced people.
  • Tags :
  • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  • Airports
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