Environmental concerns spark backlash against Great Nicobar Project amid rising political debate

The Great Nicobar Project, a ₹72,000–₹75,000 crore mega-infrastructure initiative, continues to face sharp criticism for its potential ecological and social fallout.

Planned to include a transshipment port, airport, township, and power plant, the project is situated in a biodiversity-rich and seismically vulnerable zone.

Environmental experts warn that the project could lead to the felling of 850,000 to 5.8 million trees, threatening tropical rainforests that are home to rare species and act as vital carbon sinks.

Concerns also extend to the indigenous Nicobarese and Shompen tribes, with rights groups cautioning that displacement, exposure to outside disease, and ecological damage could endanger their survival.

The island’s seismic vulnerability has added to doubts about the project’s safety, with experts noting that Great Nicobar lies in an earthquake- and tsunami-prone zone.

Biodiversity surveys conducted to greenlight the project have also been criticized as insufficient, with researchers highlighting flawed methods and limited seasonal coverage that may have overlooked critical species, including nesting turtles and dugongs.

Adding political weight to the debate, Sonia Gandhi, in a recent opinion piece published in The Hindu, described the project as a “planned misadventure.”

She warned it would endanger both tribal communities and one of the world’s richest ecosystems. She argued that the project threatens “one of the world’s most unique flora and fauna ecosystems,” while alleging that due legal processes and tribal consultations were being bypassed.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor shared her article, stating that her intervention was “timely and necessary” given the scale of ecological risks involved.

Despite such criticism, the government argues the project is of strategic importance, strengthening India’s presence near the Malacca Strait, a crucial trade corridor.

Yet, scientists continue to highlight that biodiversity studies used for approval were inadequate, overlooking seasonal variations and species such as dugongs and nesting turtles.

Meanwhile, the government argues that the project carries strategic importance by strengthening India’s presence near the Malacca Strait, a key global trade route.