Great Nicobar Island: Stage set for a great tragedy?

Decks have been cleared for construction of a mega logistics hub at a strategic location in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with the Centre granting environment clearance for the ambitious project and green-lighting diversion of more than 130 sq km of forest land to build shipping and aviation infrastructures in the Great Nicobar Island.

The two clearances came within days, ignoring widespread criticism for the Rs 75,000 crore project, with researchers red-flagging the shortcomings of the proposal and pleading to the government to carry out detailed impact assessment surveys before thousands of tonnes of concrete and steel are poured in an idyllic and pristine island over the next 30 years.

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The Ministry of Environment and Forest on October 27 wrote to the Andaman and Nicobar administration granting approval (stage-1 clearance) for diversion of 130.75 sq km of forest land. This was followed by granting the environmental permit on November 4. The approvals came in two parallel and independent processes with the ministry asking the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation to adhere to 37 conditions before the forest land could finally be handed over to it (stage-2 clearance).

While the paperwork appears to be in order, environmentalists have raised questions over site selection and the way Narendra Modi government rushed through the project in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The process began in September 2020 with the NITI Ayog issuing a call for proposal. Subsequently, two private agencies, AECOM India Pvt Ltd and Vimta Labs, were hired as consultants. The environment impact assessment report they prepared attracted sharp criticism because of multiple deficiencies (for instance, there was only one biodiversity specialist in the assessment team and travel to the site was limited due to the pandemic), but the same was relied upon by the ministry experts to grant approvals.

“This project needs to be viewed through a different lens because of its strategic importance. A high-powered committee has been embedded in the project to ensure the ecology is not affected adversely,” an official told DH. Sources said that Zoological Survey of India, Wildlife Institute of India and Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History were brought in to protect the island ecology from the project impact.

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But the environmentalists are not convinced. “Though it is one of the world’s greatest biodiversity hotspots, scant regard has been paid to the impact of the proposed projects. The Wildlife Institute of India carried out a Rapid Assessment study over a few days and the Zoological Survey of India conducted a baseline study and site appraisal even before the Terms of Reference were issued by the Ministry,” Debi Goenka from Conservation Action Trust wrote in a letter to the island administration.

The Bombay Natural History Society also expressed its reservations. “The Andaman and Nicobar islands are amongst the greatest biodiversity hotspots on earth. The EIA (environment impact assessment) report is not adequate. (The) BNHS recommends a fresh EIA be conducted with three seasons data and proper terms of reference.”

Many others also asked the government to pause and reconsider the project, taking into account serious environmental concerns and vulnerability from earthquake, tsunami and volcanic eruption. The government doesn’t seem to be in a mood to listen. However, with two government approvals in place, a legal challenge cannot be ruled out.