UPSC Articles
NITI Aayog’s ‘sustainable’ vision for Great Nicobar Island
Part of: GS Prelims and GS – III – Infrastructure; Environment
In news
- More than 150 sq. km. (18%) of land is being made available for Phase I of a NITI Aayog-piloted ‘holistic’ and ‘sustainable’ vision for Great Nicobar Island.
- The island is the southernmost in the Andaman and Nicobar group.
Key takeaways
- It will cover nearly a quarter of its coastline.
- The overall plan envisages the use of a major portion being pristine forest and coastal systems.
- Projects to be executed include an airport complex, a transshipment port (TSP) at South Bay, a parallel-to-the-coast mass rapid transport system, a free trade zone, and a warehousing complex on the southwestern coast.
- Nodal agency: Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO)
- In January 2021, the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) denotified the entire Galathea Bay Wildlife Sanctuary to allow for the port there.
Do you know?
- Nicobar megapode is the globally endangered bird unique to the Nicobars.
- The proposed project areas are important foraging grounds for the Shompen community
