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Andaman's tribal delegation meets Rahul Gandhi, raises concern over Great Nicobar project

March 20, 2026 6 min read Environment & Ecology Social Issues Polity & Governance GS2 GS3
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What Happened

  • A delegation from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, comprising members of the Tribal Council from Nicobar District and leaders of the All India Adivasi Congress, met Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on March 19, 2026.
  • The delegation raised serious concerns about the Great Nicobar Infrastructure (GNI) Project — a ₹81,000 crore development initiative that includes a transhipment port, dual-use airport, power plant, and township on the ecologically sensitive island.
  • Key concerns include the denotification of portions of the Shompen Tribal Reserve, displacement of indigenous communities, destruction of forest ecosystems, and the influx of large numbers of outsiders onto the island.
  • Tribal leaders alleged that claims of consent from indigenous communities were fabricated — a charge that prompted the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to seek an explanation from the Andaman and Nicobar administration.
  • Rahul Gandhi called the project "a misadventure trampling on tribal rights" and pledged support for the delegation's cause.
  • International indigenous rights organisations have warned the project could amount to genocide of the Shompen people, who number only around 250 individuals.

Static Topic Bridges

The Great Nicobar Island Development Project

The Great Nicobar Island Development Project is a flagship infrastructure initiative conceived by NITI Aayog for Great Nicobar — the largest of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, located at a strategic position near the Strait of Malacca and the international shipping lane connecting the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. The project was granted environmental clearance in November 2022 and encompasses four major components developed in three phases over 30 years, with Phase 1 completion targeted by 2028. It has been justified on grounds of economic benefit, port competition with Singapore and Colombo, and strategic military positioning in the Bay of Bengal.

  • International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) at Galathea Bay: capacity of 16 million TEUs per year (4 million TEUs in Phase 1).
  • Dual-use airport (civilian and defence): 3,300-metre runway capable of handling wide-body aircraft.
  • Power plant: 450 MVA hybrid gas-solar facility, largely within protected forest land.
  • Township: two greenfield coastal townships designed to eventually accommodate 350,000 residents.
  • Estimated cost: ₹81,000 crore (approximately USD 9.7 billion).
  • Environmental clearance issued by MoEFCC's Expert Appraisal Committee in November 2022; approximately 9.64 lakh trees to be affected.

Connection to this news: The scale of the project — requiring massive deforestation, coastal development, and population influx — is the direct source of the tribal delegation's concerns about the survival of the Shompen people and the Nicobarese community.

Shompen and Nicobarese: PVTGs and Protected Communities

Great Nicobar Island is home to two indigenous communities: the Nicobarese, a Scheduled Tribe, and the Shompen, classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG). PVTGs are tribes identified by the government as being in a pre-agricultural state of development, with declining or stagnant populations, limited literacy, and subsistence-level economies — requiring special, more intensive protection. The Shompen are a semi-nomadic, largely uncontacted hunter-gatherer people who inhabit the interior forests of Great Nicobar. With a population of approximately 250, they are one of the most demographically fragile communities on earth. The Government of India maintains a Shompen Policy that mandates prioritising the tribe's welfare and "integrity" in any decision-making affecting the island.

  • India currently has 75 communities classified as PVTGs across 18 states and Union Territories.
  • The Shompen have had minimal contact with the outside world; experts warn that large-scale external contact can devastate their health and social fabric — as occurred with other isolated peoples historically.
  • The Great Nicobar project requires denotifying a significant portion of the Shompen Tribal Reserve — the protected land buffer around their habitat.
  • International bodies, including Survival International, have written to the United Nations warning of potential "genocide" due to habitat destruction and population influx.

Connection to this news: The tribal delegation's central demand is that the project not proceed without genuine Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) from the Shompen and Nicobarese — consent they say was never obtained.

Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006

The Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, was enacted to correct "historical injustice" to forest-dwelling communities by recognising their customary rights over forests — rights they had exercised for generations but which were extinguished by colonial-era forest laws and were not restored after Independence. The FRA defines two categories of rights: individual rights (to cultivate forest land and use minor forest produce) and community rights (over community forest resources, water bodies, and habitat). For PVTGs specifically, Section 3(1)(e) and Section 5 of the FRA recognise the right to protect, regenerate, conserve, and manage community forest resources. Crucially, Gram Sabhas (or equivalent bodies) of forest-dwelling communities must give their consent before any forest land is diverted for non-forest purposes.

  • Under FRA rules, the subdivisional-level committee reviewing forest rights claims must include at least two members of the relevant Scheduled Tribe.
  • Critics of the Great Nicobar project allege the committee formed for the island had only one Nicobarese member, with consent purportedly given on behalf of the Shompen by a nominee — which has no sanction under the FRA.
  • The FRA applies to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, though its implementation in Union Territories has been contested.
  • Forest land diversion for the project requires Stage I and Stage II forest clearances under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, in addition to environmental clearance.

Connection to this news: The tribal delegation's legal argument rests partly on alleged violations of the FRA — particularly the absence of genuine Gram Sabha consent from the Shompen, who are classified as the "sole legally empowered authority" to protect their tribal reserve under the Act.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Process

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process is the regulatory mechanism under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, for evaluating whether a major project will cause unacceptable environmental harm. Projects above specified thresholds require an EIA, conducted by the proponent's consultants, followed by a public hearing and expert appraisal by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). Environmental clearance is issued only if the EAC finds the project acceptable with conditions. The Great Nicobar project was granted environmental clearance in November 2022, but this decision has been widely challenged — critics point to the EAC's composition changing mid-appraisal, the short public hearing window, and the absence of a baseline study on the Shompen's forest dependency.

  • The EIA Notification, 2006, governs the process; EIA Notification, 1994 was the predecessor.
  • The project's environmental clearance has been challenged in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and, separately, in the Calcutta High Court.
  • Approximately 130 sq km of the Galathea National Park — a protected area — was denotified in September 2022 to facilitate the project's environmental clearance.
  • The island is classified as a biodiversity hotspot; it is home to endangered species including the leatherback sea turtle, which nests on Galathea Bay — precisely the location of the proposed port.

Connection to this news: The tribal delegation's concerns about procedural violations align with ongoing legal challenges to the environmental clearance, which critics say did not adequately account for tribal rights or ecological sensitivity.

Key Facts & Data

  • Great Nicobar Island: 921 sq km; southernmost point of India, approximately 150 km from Sumatra (Indonesia).
  • Project cost: ₹81,000 crore; 30-year development horizon.
  • Shompen population: approximately 250 individuals — among the smallest tribal populations globally.
  • Forest affected: approximately 9.64 lakh trees, including in the Galathea National Park.
  • Galathea Bay: one of the few nesting sites globally for the critically endangered leatherback sea turtle.
  • FRA, 2006: 75 PVTGs in India eligible for special habitat rights protection.
  • Environmental clearance: issued November 2022 by MoEFCC's EAC.
  • The Tribal Affairs Ministry sought an explanation from the A&N administration after reports emerged that consent claims were fabricated.
  • Strategic significance: Great Nicobar is 40 nautical miles from the Strait of Malacca — one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.