GNI project recipe for ecological disaster, expand existing defence assets on Great Nicobar: Jairam to Rajnath

Experts — including ecologists, geoscientists, and defence analysts — have described the proposed Holistic Development of Great Nicobar Island (GNI) as a rec...

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Experts — including ecologists, geoscientists, and defence analysts — have described the proposed Holistic Development of Great Nicobar Island (GNI) as a recipe for ecological disaster, calling on the government to reconsider the project's current form.
Critics argue that the ₹72,000-crore mega-project, which includes an International Container Transhipment Port (ICTP) at Galathea Bay, an international airport, a township, and a power plant, does not meaningfully enhance India's military readiness and involves irreversible environmental trade-offs.
Experts have urged that existing and upgraded defence assets on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands — without a new, large-scale commercial-civil infrastructure footprint — can fulfil strategic objectives at far lower ecological and financial cost.
Seismologists have flagged that the project's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) significantly underplayed earthquake and tsunami risks; the island sits in one of the world's most seismically active zones with a history of mega-earthquakes.
The project received environmental and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance from the MoEFCC's Expert Appraisal Committee in November 2022, despite objections over procedural adequacy and ecological impact.

Static Topic Bridges

Great Nicobar Island: Ecological Significance

Great Nicobar Island is the largest island in the Nicobar chain and part of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago in the Bay of Bengal. Over 95% of the island falls within the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO-designated World Biosphere Reserve. The island hosts exceptional biodiversity: at least 1,767 known animal species and 811 plant species, making it part of the Sundaland Biodiversity Hotspot — one of the world's 36 biodiversity hotspots recognised for exceptional endemism under threat.

The Biosphere Reserve encompasses two national parks: Campbell Bay National Park and Galathea National Park.
Galathea Bay is one of the most important leatherback sea turtle nesting beaches in the Indian Ocean; nearly two-thirds of all leatherback nests on Great Nicobar Island are concentrated at Galathea.
The island supports saltwater crocodiles, Nicobar tree shrews, megapodes, giant robber crabs, and endemic avifauna.
Great Nicobar is also home to the Shompen — a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) with a population of approximately 250 — and the Nicobarese.
The island is positioned on Seismic Zone V (the highest hazard zone in India's classification), with a return period of 420–750 years for magnitude-9+ earthquakes and 80–120 years for magnitude-7.5+ earthquakes, per an IIT-Kanpur assessment.

Connection to this news: The proposed port and airport at Galathea Bay would directly disturb the most critical leatherback nesting habitat on the island and require diversion of 15% of the island's forested area and felling of approximately 8.52 lakh trees.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) — EIA Notification 2006

The EIA Notification 2006 (under the Environment Protection Act 1986) mandates prior environmental clearance for specified projects before they are permitted to begin construction. Projects are classified as Category A (appraised by the Central Expert Appraisal Committee and cleared by MoEFCC) or Category B (appraised at the state level by SEIAA). All Category A and Category B1 projects must undergo a public hearing conducted by the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) within 45 days, with at least 30 days' advance public notice.

The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under MoEFCC recommends clearance for Category A projects; the Ministry issues the final order.
CRZ clearance (under the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 2019) is required separately for projects in coastal/marine zones.
Concerns raised about the Great Nicobar EIA: underestimation of seismic and tsunami risks, inadequate assessment of leatherback turtle habitat loss, and insufficient public hearing access for the indigenous Shompen community who are semi-nomadic.
EIA reports are prepared by project proponents and reviewed by EAC — critics argue this creates structural bias toward clearance.

Connection to this news: Experts allege that the EIA for the Great Nicobar project "cherry-picked" data on leatherback turtle nesting and downplayed tectonic hazard, raising questions about whether the November 2022 clearance met the rigorous standards the notification requires.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Strategic Importance

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are strategically located near the Strait of Malacca — the world's busiest shipping lane — and form India's eastern maritime frontier in the Indo-Pacific. The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), headquartered at Port Blair, is India's only tri-service theatre command and is critical to monitoring the Indian Ocean and projecting power in the Bay of Bengal. The islands sit astride sea lanes through which approximately 80% of India's oil imports pass.

The ANC was established in 2001 as India's first integrated theatre command combining Army, Navy, and Air Force under a single commander.
Great Nicobar is India's southernmost point (Indira Point); it is strategically positioned to monitor the eastern approaches to the Indian Ocean.
The 6-degree channel and the 10-degree channel — key navigational passages in the area — can be monitored from the Nicobar group of islands.
Experts argue that strengthening existing naval and air assets at Campbell Bay (INS Baaz) and Car Nicobar would achieve defence objectives without the ecological footprint of a full commercial mega-project.

Connection to this news: The debate is not about whether Great Nicobar has strategic value — that is uncontested — but whether a ₹72,000-crore commercial port-township complex is the optimal vehicle for strategic strengthening, as opposed to targeted defence infrastructure upgrades.

Biosphere Reserves and Protected Area Network

A Biosphere Reserve is an internationally recognised area under UNESCO's Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme, aimed at demonstrating how conservation and sustainable use can co-exist. Unlike National Parks or Wildlife Sanctuaries declared under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, biosphere reserves have three zones: a core zone (strictly protected), a buffer zone (limited research/low-impact use), and a transition/cooperation zone (sustainable human activities).

India has 18 biosphere reserves; 12 are on UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
National Parks offer the highest level of legal protection under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 — no human activity, grazing, or settlement is permitted inside.
Any diversion of forest land within a Protected Area requires approval under the Forest Conservation Act 1980 and concurrence from the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL).
The Standing Committee of the NBWL granted in-principle approval for the Great Nicobar project, which critics argue was given without adequate ecological assessment.

Connection to this news: The Galathea National Park's boundaries were reportedly denotified/altered to enable the port development — a move that raises fundamental questions about the inviolability of Protected Area status and NBWL's gatekeeping role.

Key Facts & Data

Project cost: approximately ₹72,000 crore (roughly $10 billion).
Components: International Container Transhipment Port at Galathea Bay, international airport, township, and gas+solar power plant.
Forest area to be diverted: approximately 15% of the island's forest cover.
Trees to be felled: approximately 8.52 lakh (852,000).
Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve: covers the majority of the island, part of UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
National parks within the reserve: Campbell Bay National Park and Galathea National Park.
Seismic hazard: Seismic Zone V; return period of 80–120 years for magnitude-7.5+ earthquakes (IIT-Kanpur assessment).
Over 70 prominent experts signed an open letter in October 2025 describing the project as ecologically destructive and economically unviable.
Leatherback turtles: up to 7 feet long, nearly 2,000 pounds; Galathea Bay hosts nearly two-thirds of all leatherback nests on the island.
Environmental clearance granted: November 2022 by MoEFCC's Expert Appraisal Committee.