Great Nicobar Project and Ecological Concerns

Why is this in the news?

Environmental groups have renewed concerns over the Great Nicobar Island development plan and its clearances.

Components of the project

• An international container transshipment terminal at Galathea Bay.
• A greenfield international airport.
• A township and a gas-and-solar power plant.

Ecological and social concerns

• Loss of tropical evergreen forest and impact on coral reefs.
• Galathea Bay is a nesting site for the leatherback sea turtle.
• Potential impact on the Shompen, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, and the Nicobarese.