The
Union government has sanctioned the Great Nicobar Island Development Project,
highlighting its strategic, defense, and national significance, while including
comprehensive environmental safeguards. The decision follows thorough reviews
and consultations to ensure minimal ecological disturbance, Union Minister of
State for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh,
said in a written response in the Lok Sabha today.
Under
the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification of 2006, all new
projects must secure prior environmental clearance, involving measures such as
screening, scoping, public consultation, and appraisal. For the Great Nicobar
Island project, a thorough Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and
Environmental Management Plan (EMP) were designed with inputs from leading
statutory and non-statutory bodies, including the Zoological Survey of India
(ZSI), Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), and the
Wildlife Institute of India (WII). Academic and research organizations such as
the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs),
and National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) also contributed to the
assessment procedure.
The
Environmental Clearance was given after scrutiny by an autonomous Expert
Appraisal Committee (EAC) experts in science and engineering. The approval
contains 42 detailed requirements to protect the island's marine and
terrestrial biodiversity.
To
ensure adherence, three autonomous monitoring boards have been appointed:
1. Pollution Oversight
Committee:
To handle pollution-related concerns.
2. Biodiversity Oversight Committee: To monitor the project's
impact on marine and terrestrial ecosystems.
3. Welfare Oversight
Committee:
To protect the interests of native communities, including the Shompen and
Nicobarese tribes.
Further,
a High Power Committee (HPC) was formed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest,
and Climate Change, as mandated by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in its
April 3, 2023 directive, to manage the project's implementation.
The
government assured that all possible environmental consequences have been carefully
considered, and steps to mitigate them are critical to the project's
implementation. The move seeks to balance ecological protection with the
strategic development of Great Nicobar Island. (PR)