Does the Great Nicobar Project Boost India's Strategic Security? Govt Responds to Critics

The Great Nicobar Project is a strategic initiative to strengthen India's presence in the Andaman Sea, the Government of India said on Friday. Issuing a detailed rebuttal to the claims, the Centre said that the project seeks to balance port-led growth with calibrated environmental safeguards. Protection of indigenous communities remains central to its planning, and it combines strategic, economic, and ecological priorities. This ensures that development is sustainable, inclusive, and aligned with national interests, it asserted. On whether the Great Nicobar Island Project serves a national purpose, the Centre clarified that the project is of strategic and defence importance, undertaken after due diligence and careful consideration. "It is of critical

national security and strategic significance. The project will substantially strengthen India's presence in the Andaman Sea and Southeast Asia, enhance maritime and defence capabilities, and integrate the island with global trade and logistics networks. It will also establish a major international transshipment terminal with distinct locational advantages over competing ports in the Bay of Bengal region, positioning India as a key economic and strategic hub," it said. "It is because of the rigor of environmental scrutiny and after incorporating the consequent safeguards that the Environment and Forest Clearances were granted. The Environmental and Forest Clearances so granted has withstood the judicial scrutiny," it added.

Does the project incorporate robust environmental safeguards alongside development objectives?

The potential ecological impacts of the project have been comprehensively identified, assessed, and are being effectively managed through a robust Environmental Impact Assessment process and a detailed Environmental Management Plan (EMP), the Centre said in its press release. The assessment was carried out in accordance with the EIA Notification, 2006 and ICRZ Notification, 2019. It involved reputed national institutions including the Zoological Survey of India, Wildlife Institute of India, and Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, along with premier technical bodies such as IITs, NIOT, NCCR, and NIO. This ensured a scientifically rigorous and multi-disciplinary appraisal, it noted."Based on their findings, stringent mitigation and conservation measures have been incorporated into the Environmental Clearance. These include biodiversity conservation plans, coral protection and translocation, wildlife management strategies, and long-term ecological monitoring. The EMP is supported by substantial financial allocation and institutional oversight. It provides for continuous implementation of mitigation measures during both construction and operation phases, ensuring that ecological impacts are minimised, monitored, and effectively managed in a sustained and accountable manner," it said.The government also assured that the island's forests and tree cover will be adequately preserved and compensated for. Only 166.1 sq. km of area is proposed for development, which is approximately 2% of the total area of Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Further, 130.75 sq. km of forest area is proposed to be diverted for the project, which is only approximately 1.82% of the total forest area of the islands.