Overview
- Jairam Ramesh, a senior Congress leader, said Tuesday on X that the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve is "hugely endangered" by the Great Nicobar Island Project.
- The plan bundles a transshipment port, an international airport, a new township and power infrastructure to turn the island into a logistics hub.
- Great Nicobar joined UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves in 2013, and India lists 18 biosphere reserves with 13 recognised internationally.
- Environmentalists and opposition parties warn that large construction could damage the island’s fragile ecosystem, biodiversity and Indigenous communities.
- The government says the build is needed for strategic interests in the region, and current reports do not show new approvals, reversals or added safeguards.