The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has officially cleared the path for the controversial ₹72,000-crore Mega Infrastructure Project on Great Nicobar Island. In a move that prioritizes strategic and economic interests over irreplaceable ecosystems, the tribunal dismissed appeals challenging the environmental and forest clearances. The project includes an International Container Transshipment Terminal, a greenfield airport, a power plant, and a strategic township—all situated within one of the world’s most sensitive biodiversity hotspots.
The NGT’s decision relies on the premise of a “balanced approach,” yet the cost of this balance is staggering: the diversion of nearly 130 sq km of pristine forest and the potential displacement of the indigenous Shompen and Nicobarese communities. Critics argue that the “high-powered committee” appointed to review the environmental impact lacked transparency and failed to address the existential threat to the Leatherback sea turtles and the endemic Megapode. By choosing “national importance” over ecological survival, this ruling sets a dangerous precedent for the future of India’s protected islands.
