Great Nicobar project ‘commercial, not strategic’, Ramesh tells Rajnath in fresh letter
Public correspondence exchanged between a Rajya Sabha member and the Ministry of Defence renewed debate over whether the Great Nicobar Island Development Project should be classified as a commercial infrastructure project or a strategic/defence project
The dispute centres on the project's four components — a transshipment port at Galathea Bay, a greenfield international airport, a township and area development plan, and a power plant — and on which classification determines the environmental and coastal clearance standards applied
Concerns raised include the unpublished status of the High-Powered Committee report that examined the project, and questions over forest and coastal clearance compliance
The National Green Tribunal had earlier, in February 2026, allowed the project to proceed subject to strict compliance with Environmental Clearance conditions, after ground verification found no part of the project falls in the most protected coastal zone (CRZ-IA)
Great Nicobar Island Development Project
This is a Rs 72,000 crore (with cost estimates since risen toward Rs 90,000-95,000 crore) integrated infrastructure project on Great Nicobar Island in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, combining a transshipment port, an airport, a power plant and a township, spread over about 166 sq km of land — roughly 2% of the total area of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Key Details
- The transshipment port at Galathea Bay accounts for roughly half the total project cost; the dual-use airport requires about 5% of the project's land and 10% of the budget
- Nodal implementing agency: the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO)
- About 130.75 sq km of forest land — roughly 1.82% of the Union Territory's total forest area — is proposed for diversion
- Environmental Clearance was granted under the EIA Notification, 2006, with 42 conditions covering air, water, marine ecology, waste management and disaster management
Whether the project is classified as "strategic/defence" or "commercial" has direct legal consequences, since India's coastal regulation framework treats strategic and defence projects differently from ordinary commercial ones.
Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2019
The CRZ Notification, issued under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, regulates construction and industrial activity along India's coastline by classifying coastal areas into zones (CRZ-I to CRZ-IV) with varying restriction levels. CRZ-IA covers the most ecologically sensitive areas, where new construction including ports is generally prohibited.
Key Details
- The 2011 CRZ Notification had explicitly pre-defined which categories of activity qualified as "strategic" or "defence-related" for exemption purposes; the 2019 Notification removed this pre-defined list, leaving classification of a project as "strategic" to case-by-case government determination
- CRZ-I (ecologically sensitive, including mangroves, coral reefs and turtle nesting grounds) and CRZ-IVA (territorial waters) carry the strictest restrictions
- In the Great Nicobar case, the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management conducted ground verification and found no part of the project area falls within CRZ-IA, a finding the NGT relied upon to allow the project to proceed
The 2019 Notification's removal of a fixed list of exempted strategic activities is precisely why the "commercial or strategic" classification of the Great Nicobar project has become legally and politically contested — the classification is now discretionary rather than pre-defined.
Shompen Tribe and Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) Safeguards
The Shompen are a semi-nomadic indigenous community of Great Nicobar Island classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, one of India's most isolated tribal populations with minimal contact with the outside world.
Key Details
- PVTG status (a sub-category within Scheduled Tribes) is based on criteria including pre-agricultural technology, stagnant or declining population, extremely low literacy, and a subsistence economy
- Government policy governing the Shompen is the Shompen Policy (2015), modelled on the Jarawa Policy (2004), both of which require large-scale development proposals to prioritise PVTG welfare and territorial integrity
- Statutory protections for tribal land and forest rights on the islands include the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956 (ANPATR) and the Forest Rights Act, 2006
Objections to the project's ecological footprint include its impact on forest areas that fall within Shompen territory, raising questions about compliance with the dedicated tribal-protection policy framework rather than the standard land-diversion process.
National Green Tribunal (NGT)
The NGT is a specialised statutory body established under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, for the speedy disposal of cases relating to environmental protection, forest conservation and other natural resources, exercising both original and appellate jurisdiction.
Key Details
- Composition includes judicial and expert members; its principal bench is in Delhi with regional benches elsewhere
- The NGT allowed the Great Nicobar project to proceed in February 2026, holding that adequate environmental safeguards were in place and directing strict compliance with Environmental Clearance conditions
- Concerns raised about NGT functioning include analyses (cited in reporting on this case) suggesting a rising proportion of rulings favouring project developers over the 2020-2025 period compared with earlier years
The NGT's clearance is the primary legal basis on which the project currently proceeds, making its reasoning — particularly the CRZ-IA finding — central to the ongoing commercial-versus-strategic dispute.
Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) and Indo-Pacific Strategic Geography
The Andaman and Nicobar Command is India's only tri-services (Army, Navy, Air Force) unified command, reflecting the islands' location near critical global shipping lanes.
Key Details
- Established October 1, 2001, headquartered at Sri Vijaya Puram (formerly Port Blair)
- Created to strengthen India's rapid deployment capability near the Strait of Malacca and Southeast Asia, supporting India's wider Indo-Pacific and Act East strategic posture
- Great Nicobar Island lies close to key Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC) through which a large share of global maritime trade transits
The strategic argument for the project rests on this existing tri-services military geography — the debate is over whether the specific transshipment port and township components serve this security function or are primarily commercial in purpose.
- Total project area: ~166 sq km (~2% of Andaman & Nicobar Islands' total area)
- Forest land proposed for diversion: ~130.75 sq km (~1.82% of the Union Territory's total forest area)
- Estimated project cost: Rs 72,000 crore originally, with reports of estimates rising to Rs 90,000-95,000 crore
- Environmental Clearance conditions imposed: 42
- ANC established: October 1, 2001 — India's only tri-services command
- NGT allowed the project to proceed: February 16, 2026
- Shompen: classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG)