Concern for the environment and strategic necessity in the Great Nicobar project
Conservationists are criticising the projected Rs 72,000-crore infra upgrading at Great Nicobar Island. What is the proposed project about, and why does India seek to develop the island? We clarify.
A "thorough, impartial review of the proposed project, including by the Parliamentary committees concerned" and the "immediate suspension of all clearances" are among the demands made by the Congress party, which has characterized the proposed Rs 72,000-crore infrastructural upgrade at Great Nicobar Island as a "grave threat" to the island's indigenous inhabitants and fragile ecosystem.
Great Nicobar, the largest and most southern of the Nicobar Islands, is a 910 square kilometer area of mostly tropical rainforest in the southeast Bay of Bengal that is inhabited by few people. The southernmost point of India, Indira Point, is located less than 170 km (90 nautical miles) from Sabang, the largest island in the Indonesian archipelago, which is located near the northern tip of Sumatra.
What's Your Reaction?
