Great Nicobar Megaproject: Calcutta High Court to Scrutinize Forest Rights and Environmental Clearances
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The Calcutta High Court has admitted PILs challenging the ₹72,000-crore Great Nicobar Island project over alleged violations of the Forest Rights Act and tribal consent norms. This judicial intervention highlights the ongoing tension between strategic infrastructure development and the protection of indigenous communities and biodiversity.
The Port Blair bench of the Calcutta High Court has recently decided to hear Public Interest Litigations (PILs) challenging the statutory clearances granted to the Great Nicobar Island (GNI) megaproject. The ₹72,000-crore project, which includes an International Transshipment Terminal, a greenfield international airport, a power plant, and a township, has been under intense scrutiny for its potential impact on the island’s fragile ecosystem and its indigenous inhabitants.
The core of the legal challenge rests on alleged violations of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, commonly known as the Forest Rights Act (FRA). Petitioners argue that the mandatory process of recognizing forest rights and obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of the Tribal Council was bypassed or manipulated. Specifically, concerns have been raised regarding the withdrawal of consent by the Tribal Council of Little and Great Nicobar, who claimed they were not fully informed about the project's scale and its impact on their ancestral lands.
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