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Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

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Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

Great Nicobar Project is a necessity. India cannot ignore China’s maritime footprint

Great Nicobar Project debate cannot be reduced to a binary choice between ecology and security. In the Indo-Pacific, strategic inaction can permanently weaken India’s position.

The Great Nicobar Project has become one of the most contested strategic initiatives undertaken by the central government in recent times. At the core of the debate lies an essential national security intervention aimed at securing Indian interests in the evolving geopolitical architecture in the Indo-Pacific.

The project spans across a proposed International Container Transhipment Port (ICTP) at Galathea Bay, the Greenfield International Airport, a 450 MVA (Megavolt Ampere) gas and solar-based power plant and a new township spanning 16,610 hectares.

However, the Great Nicobar Project has also attracted criticism from opposition parties, scientists and civil society groups, particularly over its environmental impact and the potential consequences for indigenous communities, even though the project was cleared by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in  February 2026 by a six-member bench. 

The tribunal upheld the Great Nicobar Island infrastructure project, declining to interfere with the environmental clearance granted in 2022. The bench underscored the project’s strategic significance for both national security and economic development while simultaneously emphasising the need for stringent adherence to environmental safeguards.

Importance of the island

The island’s importance begins with its geography. Located near the western approaches of the Strait of Malacca, Great Nicobar sits alongside one of the busiest maritime corridors in the world through which a substantial share of global trade, including critical energy flows from the........

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