Nicobar project violates tribal rights: ST panel
- The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has flagged alleged discrepancies in Nicobar project
- It is with respect to the forest clearance granted for the ₹72,000-crore Great Nicobar Island (GNI) Project.
- The panel issued notice in April to district authorities on the Andaman and Nicobar islands citing alleged violations under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006
- Earlier this month, the National Green Tribunal ordered a stay on the project and constituted a committee to revisit the environmental clearance.
About Great Nicobar Island (GNI) Project
- It is a mega project to be implemented at the southern end of the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
- The project includes an international container transshipment terminal, a greenfield international airport, township development, and a 450 MVA gas and solar based power plant over an extent of 16,610 hectares in the island.
Purpose of project:
- Economic Reasons:
- As per the NITI Aayog report, the proposed port will allow Great Nicobar to participate in the regional and global maritime economy by becoming a major player in cargo transshipment.
- It is equidistant from Colombo to the southwest and Port Klang (Malaysia) and Singapore to the southeast, and positioned close to the East-West international shipping corridor, through which a very large part of the world’s shipping trade passes.
- As per the NITI Aayog report, the proposed port will allow Great Nicobar to participate in the regional and global maritime economy by becoming a major player in cargo transshipment.
- Strategic Reasons:
- The proposal to develop Great Nicobar was first floated in the 1970s, and its importance for national security and consolidation of the Indian Ocean Region has been repeatedly underlined.
- Increasing Chinese assertion in the Indian Ocean has added great urgency to this imperative in recent years.
Prelims take away
- Shompen
- PVTGs
- FRA