Overview
- The Environment Ministry, in a detailed fact-sheet released Friday, called the plan a strategic project with prior clearance that carries 42 conditions and has withstood National Green Tribunal review in February.
- The buildout includes an international transshipment port at Galathea Bay, a greenfield airport, a 450 MVA gas‑solar power plant, and a township over 166.10 sq km near East–West shipping lanes about 40 nautical miles away.
- Officials say the project will divert 1.82% of the islands’ forest cover, fell up to 7.11 lakh trees in phases, set aside 65.99 sq km as green zones, and fund compensatory afforestation on 97.30 sq km in Haryana.
- The Centre says no displacement is planned for the Shompen and Nicobarese and that re‑notification will yield a net increase in tribal reserve area, but Nicobarese representatives report revoking consent and have raised rights concerns with authorities.
- Ecologists dispute tree‑loss estimates, warn about seismic risks in Zone V and nesting habitats under strict coastal rules, and the debate has sharpened since Rahul Gandhi’s visit as BJP leaders and defence veterans publicly backed the project’s strategic case.