NITI Aayog’s Project for Great Nicobar Island 

NITI Aayog’s Project for Great Nicobar Island 

Part of: GS Prelims and GS – III –  Environment

In news

• The Environment Appraisal Committee (EAC) – Infrastructure I of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has flagged serious concerns about NITI Aayog’s ambitious project for Great Nicobar Island.

Key takeaways 

• The committee has, however, removed the first hurdle faced by the project.
• It has “recommended” it “for grant of terms of reference (TOR)” for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies, which in the first instance will include baseline studies over three months.
• The proposal includes an international container transshipment terminal, a greenfield international airport, a power plant and a township complex spread over 166 sq. km. (mainly pristine coastal systems and tropical forests), and is estimated to cost ₹75,000 crore.

Important value additions 

Galathea Bay

• Galathea Bay is the site of the port and the centrepiece of the NITI Aayog proposal.
• It is an iconic nesting site in India of the enigmatic Giant Leatherback, the world’s largest marine turtle.
• A number of species are restricted to just the Galathea region. 
• These include the critically endangered Nicobar shrew, the Great Nicobar crake, the Nicobar frog, the Nicobar cat snake, a new skink (Lipinia sp), a new lizard (Dibamus sp,) and a snake of the Lycodon species that is yet to be described.