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Bengaluru: The National Green Tribunal (NGT)’s refusal to interfere with the environmental clearance given to the infrastructure projects on Great Nicobar island in the Andaman and Nicobar has drawn flak from several quarters. Scientists who have worked on the island on various aspects including its wildlife and tribal communities said that while the NGT’s response does not come as a surprise given its previous stands, the order was not justified.

The NGT had said on Monday (February 16) that it found ‘no good grounds’ to interfere with the environmental clearance that the Union environment ministry gave in 2022 for an international transshipment terminal, a township, a power plant and a greenfield airport on the Island, costing more than Rs 80,000 crore.

The NGT in its February 16 order had said that the projects were of “national importance” and there was a “need for a balanced approach”.

Clearances despite caution

However, experts from various fields have advised caution about the detrimental impacts the projects would have on the island’s biodiversity and indigenous communities – for the last several years.

For instance, the environmental impact assessment conducted by the government to gauge the projects’ impact on the island was short, incomplete (only a single-season study) and cherry-picked data, scientists had told The Wire in January........

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