Overview
- India’s green tribunal cleared the plan with strict rules and created a high‑powered panel to enforce coral moves, new sanctuaries, research posts at Campbell Bay and Kamorta, eight wildlife corridors, and tough Forest Rights and coastal norms.
- The project packages a deep‑water port at Galathea Bay, an international airport, a power complex, and a 149 sq km township, with costs estimated at ₹72,000–₹81,000 crore over about three decades.
- Backers cite the island’s location near the Strait of Malacca to expand maritime reach and reduce use of foreign transshipment hubs, with targets of 14–16 million containers a year, $200–$300 million in savings, and about 50,000 jobs.
- Scientists and lawyers warn about felling up to 711,000 trees in phases, damage to coral and mangroves, risks to leatherback turtles, Nicobar megapodes and macaques, and exposure to quakes and tsunamis highlighted by 2004 losses.
- Indigenous Shompen and Nicobarese leaders question consultation and fear a surge of outside settlers, and opposition leaders have visited the island to challenge the scale and pace of the build.