Hindi English Translation || Editorial || ​Nicobar triangle: on the ₹72,000-crore project on Great Nicobar Island

​Nicobar triangle: on the ₹72,000-crore project on Great Nicobar Island

Without wide consultations, Centre should not embark (प्रारम्भ करना) on the infrastructure project

The Union Tribal Affairs Ministry will be looking into the forest clearance (मंजूरी) paperwork of the ₹72,000-crore infrastructure project on Great Nicobar Island, a major initiative of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram told this newspaper. This is a significant step for the government, in its third term, as it brings to the surface the contentious (विवादास्पद) and difficult choices that governments face while addressing the trilemma of infrastructure development, preserving pristine (In its original condition; unspoiled) biodiversity respect and, being sensitive to the rights of the indigenous (स्वदेशी) inhabitants, and tribals. The Great Nicobar Project involves developing a trans-shipment port, an international airport, township development, and a 450 MVA gas and solar-based power plant on the island. The project area is expected to cover over 130 sq. km. of pristine forest, and has been accorded a stage-1 environmental clearance — one of the mandatory prerequisites (पूर्वापेक्षा, आवश्यक शर्त) — by an expert committee. The government told Parliament in August 2023 that 9.6 lakh trees could be felled and ‘compensatory afforestation,’ for the loss of this unique rainforest ecosystem, had been planned, thousands of kilometres away, in the vastly different ecological zone of Haryana. The Galathea Bay in the Nicobar islands hosts multiple rare species including the leatherback turtle, and the project imperils (खतरे में डालना) their future.

The government contends that its motive is to leverage the strategic location with the Great Nicobar Island located only 90 km away from the western tip of the Malacca Strait, an important shipping route between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. However, critics and some of the government’s policy advisers suggest that tourism is a key imperative (अनिवार्य, अत्यावश्यक) for the exercise. The Environment Ministry, which is a regulator of environmental policy, has opted to be secretive about the project. Details on the environmental clearance process and the appraisal process, usually a public document, have been kept under wraps. There also seems to be haste on the part of the island administration to proceed while ignoring the rights of the local tribes — the Shompen in particular — regarding consent (सहमति, अनुमति). The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, a constitutional body, has demanded an explanation from the district administration on these grounds. The National Green Tribunal had tasked a committee, headed by the Secretary of the Environment Ministry, to submit a report on the approval of forest clearances. This too is not public. Without transparency, it would be foolhardy for the government to attempt such a massive upheaval (उथल-पुथल, हलचल) of the islands and it should, with its new mandate, immediately correct course.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Embark (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - प्रारम्भ करना
English Meaning - To begin a journey or an endeavor.

2.Clearance (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - मंजूरी
English Meaning - Official authorization or consent; the action or process of removing or getting rid of something

3.Contentious (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - विवादास्पद
English Meaning - Likely to cause an argument; controversial.

4.Indigenous (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - स्वदेशी
English Meaning - Originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native.

5.Prerequisite (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - पूर्वापेक्षा, आवश्यक शर्त
English Meaning - A thing that is required as a prior condition for something else to happen or exist.

6.Imperil (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - खतरे में डालना
English Meaning - To put at risk of being harmed, injured, or destroyed

7.Imperative (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अनिवार्य, अत्यावश्यक
English Meaning - Of vital importance; crucial.

8.Consent (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - सहमति, अनुमति
English Meaning - Permission for something to happen or agreement to do something.

9.Upheaval (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - उथल-पुथल, हलचल
English Meaning - A violent or sudden change or disruption to something.

10.Pristine (adjective)

English Meaning - In its original condition; unspoiled.