The environment ministry's panel on Wednesday approved the controversial 16,610 hectares project on Great Nicobar island.
Highlights,
The projects will need the felling of over 800,000 trees and the loss of 12-20 hectares of mangrove forests.
EIA report on great nikobar island.
Report :The Government of India has cleared the project for the controversial Rs 75,000 crore project to construct a greenfield international port, an international container transhipment terminal, a township and power plants across 16,610 hectares of pristine forests in a Great Nicobar island.
The projects will need the felling of over 800,000 trees and the loss of 12-20 hectares of mangrove forests, leading to a substantial loss to corals and claiming over 298 hectares of the sea bed.
The Region in general and the Indian Ocean, in particular, has turned into a strategic hotspot in recent years. In response to the increasing strategic value of this IOR, a critical mass of development in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is necessary for strengthening India's regional presence", the report said, according to Sparrow News.
About the Island : The Great Nicobar Island was declared as a biosphere reserve in January 1989 by the Center and included in the Unesco man and biosphere program in May 2013. It is considered a global biodiversity hotspot, which explains the strong opposition to the project from several quarters.
The EAC has mandated specific 'conservation and management plans' and high funding for the endemic species, mangroves and corals and other fauna, besides several other caveats, minutes of the meeting show. EAC said three independent committees will be set up: one to oversee pollution related matters, another on biodiversity and the third to oversee welfare and issues related to Shompen and Nicobarese tribes.
What the EIA report says,
The project is spread over 166 square kilometers of the 910 square kilometer island, for which at least 130.75 square kilometers of dense forest will have to be diverted, according to the EIA report. A large chunk of this land — 84.1 square kilometers — is reserved for the tribal population that will need to be denotified.
Among the most contentious aspects of the project is the establishment of the transshipment terminal, which will be located in Galathea Bay, where the endangered giant leatherback turtles go to nest.
According to the EIA report, the terminal was moved from the western flank of the Bay to "the eastern flank where leatherback nesting is not known," and that "The breakwater was also designed in a way so that the turtles can enter to the nesting site without any hinderance [sic].” While proposing a deflector be put in place to keep the turtles out of harm's way, it is also recommended a pilot study be conducted to observe how effective this deflector will be.
Construction of the terminal will reduce the passage of entry for the turtles “substantially”, since the mouth of the Bay is only 3.8 kilometers wide, according to the EIA report. It suggested that construction be halted from November to February (the nesting period of the turtles) and that dim lights and sound mufflers be used, so as to not "interfere" with the nesting of the turtles. It further justified construction of the port by sitting other instances of development around turtle nesting sites. None of the sites mentioned, however, are that of the giant leatherback turtle, as this is the only such site in India.
The giant leatherback turtle is a globally endangered species, and the Great Nicobar Island is one of the few nesting sites in the world. The Indian government included it in the first schedule of the Coastal Regulation Zone when it released the National Marine Turtle Action Plan on 1 February 2021.
The EIA report also said the coral reef along the coast of the Bay could be destroyed by dredging while the port is being constructed. As a mitigation solution, it suggested the corals be transplanted to an alternate location, which it said can be done “easily”. It did not, however, provide information on an alternate site or any details for the proposed transplantation process.
The township, airport, and thermal power plant will all come up in areas with dense forest cover, which will affect the biodiversity “significantly”, the EIA said. Affected animals and birds will either be relocated or migrate towards thicker vegetation “on their own”, it added.
The thermal power plant is the closest to the Shompen habitation on the island. The EIA report said that any interaction between the Shompen people and outsiders is “totally undesirable”, as they are vulnerable to disease and have no intention of assimilating with the outside world.
As a mitigation measure, the EIA report suggested the dwelling for the construction workers be located away from the reserve, and that the area “be guarded and even barricaded with barbwires if necessary”.
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