Nicobar port plan: Flagged in no-go zone earlier, now in permitted area

The HPC’s conclusion that no part of the project falls in the ICRZ-IA area in violation of the ICRZ notification, 2019, was based on a ground-truthing exercise carried out by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM).

This is the first time that the HPC’s conclusions regarding the project have been made public.

The HPC’s conclusions on the ICRZ issue, along with other conclusions and recommendations, were submitted in an affidavit to the NGT’s Kolkata bench Friday by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO).

The ANIIDCO, which is executing the Rs 72,000-crore project, was responding to a plea filed by environmental activist Ashish Kothari, seeking exclusion of the project’s activities from ICRZ-IA due to alleged violations of the ICRZ-IA 2019 notification. The plea had also sought that the HPC’s recommendations and minutes of meetings be made known.

The petition pointed out that the sensitive nesting sites of leatherback turtles and Nicobar megapode bird on Galathea Bay beaches was one of the reasons for demarcating the area under the ICRZ-IA.

In its submissions regarding the NCSCM’s ground truthing, ANIIDCO stated, “…(NCSCM) visited the project site and its nearby areas for conducting the ground truthing exercise. Thereafter, taking into consideration the factual position, layout of the project prepared by the (ANIIDCO), observation made during the ground truthing exercise and in terms of the response received by the Forest Department of UT administration and project proponent, the NCSCM observed that the construction of the Port is not a permissible activity under CRZ IA area but under CRZ IB area. The NCSCM, hence, concluded that no part of the project area is falling under CRZ IA area.”

“Moreover, it was also clarified by ANIIDCO that in conformity with specific and general conditions of the EC (environmental clearance) dated 11.11.2022, no activity is proposed within the ICRZ-IA area,” it stated.

While it has shared some details regarding the functioning and conclusions of the HPC, the ANIIDCO declined to share minutes of HPC’s meetings. “…the integrated project pertains to defence and strategic objectives and therefore, the minutes of the meetings are construed to be confidential in nature and out of public domain,” it stated.

While the plea has sought exclusion of all activities from ICRZ-IA, ANIIDCO’s affidavit was silent on the parts of airport and township falling in in the ICRZ-IA area.

A special bench of the NGT had constituted the HPC, headed by Secretary, Union Environment Ministry, in April 2023, while hearing a challenge against the Great Nicobar project’s environmental clearance. The petition was filed by Conservation Action Trust and Ashish Kothari. While the NGT did not interfere with the project’s forest clearance, it formed the HPC to revisit the environmental clearance to address “some unanswered deficiencies”.

The special bench had ordered that no further work should happen until the HPC gave its report.

Among the issues the HPC had to revisit was protection of 4,518 coral colonies, limited one-season baseline data collection for assessing the project’s environmental impact and the issue of project components falling in the ecologically sensitive ICRZ-IA area.

Regarding the coral colonies, the HPC said that it agreed with the Zoological Survey of India’s recommendation to translocate 16,150 out of 20,668 coral colonies. For the remaining 4,518, for which there was no plan outlined, the HPC directed continuous observation from 15-30 metres depth to analyse the sedimentation load and rate of sedimentation before any decision is taken to translocate them.

On baseline data collected, the HPC said that one-season’s, other than monsoon, was enough to assess environmental impact as per the EIA notification, 2006.

Requests for comments from the A&N administration on whether changes have been made in the siting of the project and on the differing information about the project’s extent in the ICRZ areas did not elicit a response.

The ICRZ-IA areas comprise ecologically sensitive areas such as mangroves, corals and coral reefs, sand dunes, mudflats, marine parks, wildlife habitats, salt marshes, turtle nesting grounds and bird nesting grounds among others.

Only eco-tourism activities such as mangrove walks and natural trails, roads and roads-on-stilts in defence and strategic projects and public utilities are allowed in this area with permits from the UT and Centre.

The Great Nicobar ‘Holistic Development’ Project was conceived by the NITI Aayog and the key plan includes construction of an international container transshipment terminal; township and area development, a 450 MVA gas and solar-based power plant, an airport for civilian and defence use.

The project will be spread over an area of 166 sq km and environmentalists and activists are concerned it will impact leatherback turtle nesting sites, Nicobar megapode nesting mounds, corals, the particularly vulnerable Shompen tribes group and the ancestral lands of the Great Nicobarese Scheduled Tribe community.