GREAT
NICOBAR ISLAND - GEOGRAPHY
News: Nicobar project gets assent for diversion of 130 sq. km of forest
What's
in the news?
●
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest
and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has granted an in-principle clearance to divert
130.75 sq km of forest in Great Nicobar Island for a mega project that is
estimated to be worth ₹72,000 crore.
●
The project includes a transshipment port,
an airport, a power plant and a greenfield township.
Key takeaways:
●
The planned diversion will cover almost 15% of the forest on Great
Nicobar Island - making it one of the largest such single forest diversions
in recent times.
●
It is almost 25% of all the forest land
diverted in the past three years across the country.
●
According to MoEFCC, 8.5 lakh trees will
have to be cut in Great Nicobar for this project.
●
These are primary evergreen tropical trees with high biological diversity and
also high endemism - which means that they are only found in a single location.
●
The ministry’s forest conservation
division issued a letter for clearance on October 27.
●
A key condition for the clearance is the
submission of a detailed scheme for compensatory afforestation, which is to be
done on “non-notified forest land” in Haryana.
● However, the final Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report mentioned that the compensatory afforestation over 260 sq km will be carried out in Madhya Pradesh. There is no clarity on how the switch to Haryana was made.
Great Nicobar Development Plan:
●
The overall Great Nicobar Development plan
envisages the use of about 244 sq. km. region for development purposes.
●
Phase 1 of the plan will cover:
○
22 sq. km. airport complex,
○
Transshipment port (TSP) at South Bay,
○
Parallel-to-the-coast mass rapid transport
system and
○
Free trade zone and warehousing complex on
the southwestern coast.
● Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO) will be the nodal agency for the implementation of the Great Nicobar Development plan.
Great
Nicobar Island:
●
Great Nicobar is the southernmost and largest of the Nicobar Islands of India.
●
The island of Sumatra is located 180 km to
the south of Great Nicobar. It has an area of about 1045 sq. km.
●
According to the 2011 census, it has a
population of about 8,069. The island is home to one of the most primitive
tribes of India - the Shompens.
●
The island includes the Great Nicobar
Biosphere Reserve (GNBR) comprising the Galathea
National Park and the Campbell Bay National Park.
●
Indira
Point in the Great Nicobar Island is the southernmost point
of India’s territory.