Overview

• Sonia Gandhi’s Sept. 8 op-ed calls the project a “planned misadventure,” warning of existential threats to the Nicobarese and Shompen tribes and alleging a mockery of due process.
• The plan envisions a transshipment port at Galathea Bay, a greenfield international airport, a township and a power plant over roughly 160 sq km, with costs widely reported near Rs 72,000 crore.
• Procedural objections cited include absence of consultation with the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, a Tribal Council NOC later revoked, omissions in FRA/SIA processes, and an unpublished CRZ reclassification review by a high-powered committee.
• Environmental concerns highlighted include official estimates of 8.5 lakh trees to be felled with independent estimates far higher, questioned biodiversity surveys affecting species such as sea turtles and the Nicobar long-tailed macaque, and the island’s seismic vulnerability.
• The BJP response led by spokesperson Anil K Antony stresses Great Nicobar’s proximity to the Malacca Strait and its value for naval operations, pushing back at Congress criticism as the political dispute intensifies.