5 August, 2024
The Indian government has proposed a Rs 72,000-crore ($9.4 billion) infrastructure project on Great Nicobar Island, aiming to transform it into the “Hong Kong of India.”
This development threatens to remove 9.64 lakh trees and displace 8,000 indigenous Shompen people, who have coexisted with the island's ecosystem for centuries. Survival International and other advocacy groups have called for halting the project, highlighting its potential to devastate Shompen communities and territories, terming it as tantamount to genocide.
The project includes an International Container Transshipment Terminal, a greenfield international airport, a township, a gas and solar-based power plant, and two new coastal cities across 16,610 hectares, intended to boost regional and global trade.
The project has faced opposition from former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh and the local Tribal Council, which revoked its no-objection certificate due to inadequate consultation. Despite this, the National Green Tribunal has upheld the project's environmental clearances. the government plans to proceed, urgent reassessment is needed to protect the island's environment and heritage.