Explainer: Why the Great Nicobar Island project is courting controversy
Last week, the Congress party redoubled its objections to the Great Nicobar Integrated Development Project, terming it an ecological disaster in its present form. Banasree Purkayastha looks at the controversy and the strategic interests cited by the government as the reason to go ahead with the projectl What is the Great Nicobar Island project?
THE GREAT NICOBAR Integrated Development Project (GNI) seeks to transform Great Nicobar island located in the southeastern part of the Bay of Bengal into a maritime and economic hub by leveraging its proximity (about 40 nautical miles) to the East–West shipping route and reducing dependence on foreign transhipment ports such as Colombo or Singapore.
Originally envisioned by NITI Aayog at an investment of Rs 81,000 crore, the project includes four primary aspects — an International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) with a capacity of 14.2 million TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit), a greenfield internationalairport (4000 Peak Hour Passengers-PHP), a 450 MVA (Megavolt Ampere) gas and solar-based power plant, and a new township spanning 16,610 hectares. The first $4-billion phase on Great Nicobar — construction of a port at Galathea Bay and airport at Campbell Bay – is likely to be completed by 2035. Once finished, the container port will handle more than 20 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), making it one of India’s three largest ports.
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l Why the Congress party has opposed the project
ACCORDING TO THE Congress party, the government failed to address the “serious concerns” raised on the project by the local affected communities, environmentalists, anthropologists, and academics. It accused the government of failing to comply with the provisions of the Forest Rights Act, 2006. It issued a rebuttal to the Centre’s fact-sheet on the Great Nicobar Island mega infrastructure project, terming it ‘damage control’ following Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the island.
The rebuttal by Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in-charge communications, centred on the island’s ecological concerns, tribal rights, the project’s financial and physical feasibility, and transparency. Alleging that the project is a commercial venture with no military component, the former environment minister said that India’s “legitimate security imperatives” should not be linked with “a so-called development project” and that security considerations needed a debate in Parliament.
l What the govt has said
THE GOVERNMENT HAS defended its decision, saying the project received prior environmental clearance under the EIA Notification, 2006 after a detailed process of screening, scoping, public consultation and appraisal — the National Green Tribunal had cleared it in February 2026. It has said the project is fully aligned with the Shompen Policy of 2015 and the Jarawa Policy of 2004, which require large-scale development proposals to prioritise the welfare and integrity of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) and follow a structured consultation process.
Great Nicobar Island is inhabited by the aboriginal Shompens (about 237), who are hunter-gatherers, and the Nicobarese (about 1,094), who depend mainly on fishing for survival. However, in a setback for the government, the Calcutta High Court earlier this month agreed to hear three public interest litigations alleging violation of forest rights to tribals while granting the clearance.
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l The national security imperative
DEFENCE EXPERTS Have pointed out that the project’s unique location makes its strategically important for India. The Great Nicobar island sits strategically at the northern approaches to the Strait of Malacca, and overlooks the Six Degree Channel, a vital maritime passage used by nearly 40% of global tradeand the majority of China’s energy imports.
Since the reign of the Cholas in the 9th century till the British control over India in the 20th century, every regime has recognised the island’s strategic location.
Over centuries, all of them stationed warships there, just 175 kilometres from Indonesia. Its military significance in the Indian Ocean region where China is the dominant player thus cannot be ignored, say defence experts. “Great Nicobar Island is like India’s unsinkable aircraft carrier,” Nitin Gokhale, a New Delhi-based security expert, told CNBC. “The fact that everyone, including the Chinese, can see our ability to keep a close watch, creates a new paradigm for us.”
l Why the Strait of Malacca is important
THE STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE of Malacca Strait lies in providing the shortest maritime connectivity between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. While there are other routes — Sunda, Lombok and Ombai-Wetar straits — these have significant time and cost implications. Thus, as a major feeder and outlet of the Malacca Strait, the Great Channel or Six Degree Channel is crucial for the usage of Malacca Strait by maritime shipping. About $3.5 trillion in global trade moves through the Strait of Malacca every year, including around two-thirds of Chinese maritime traffic. Any disruption in the Six Degree Channel implies potential closure of the Malacca Strait for maritime trade.
This makes the Great Channel a choke point of strategic significance, similar to the Strait of Hormuz but this time controlled by India. Since the Great Nicobar island is near the Strait of Malacca, the move to develop it into a strategic military and commercial hub could challenge China’s trade routes in the event of a conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.
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