April 24

• Indira Point on the southern tip of Great Nicobar Island is India's southernmost point, less than 150 km from the northernmost island of the Indonesian archipelago
• Features of Great Nicobar Island

  • Two national parks – Campbell National Park (North) and Galathea National Park (South)
  • A biosphere reserve
  • The Shompen and Nicobarese tribal peoples
• Great Nicobar Island


  • Tropical wet evergreen forests
  • Mountain ranges reaching almost 650 m above sea level
  • Coastal plains
• Biodiversity of Great Nicobar Island

  • Fourteen species of mammals
  • 71 species of birds
  • 26 species of reptiles
  • 10 species of amphibians
  • 113 species of fish
• Leatherback sea turtle


  The island's flagship species
• The ecologically rich island was declared a biosphere reserve in 1989 and included in UNESCO's Man and Biosphere Programme in 2013
• The island has a total area of a little more than 900 sq km, with nearly 850 sq km designated as a tribal reserve under the Andaman and Nicobar Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation, 1956
• Tribes residing on Great Nicobar Island

  • Shompen
  • Nicobarese
• Shompen


  Hunter-gatherers who depend on forest and marine resources for sustenance
• Nicobarese


  Coastal dwelling tribe, mostly relocated after the 2004 tsunami
• More than half of the project area lies over the Tribal Reserve Area of the island, the riparian and forested regions of which are currently in use by the forest-dwelling Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, the Shompen
• The Shompen rely on the rainforest for existence and have little contact with the outside world
• Many academics believe that the Shompen could die from diseases if they come into contact with outsiders
• The project area also covers parts of the south-eastern and western coast where the coastal dwelling Scheduled Tribe, the Great Nicobarese, have their ancestral villages
• The project covers 15% of the thickly forested Great Nicobar Island, one of the largest, single forest diversions in recent times, and nearly a quarter of all the forest land diverted in the past three years across the country
• The proposed massive infrastructure development in an ecologically important and fragile region, including the falling of almost a million trees, has alarmed many environmentalists
• Loss of tree cover

  Affects the flora and fauna on the island, leads to increased runoff and sediment deposits in the ocean, impacting the coral reefs in the area
• Coral reefs, already under threat from warming oceans, are of enormous ecological importance
• India has successfully translocated a coral reef from the Gulf of Mannar to the Gulf of Kutch earlier
• The Coral reels in the project area will also have to be relocated in the similar manner
• The Galathea Bay in the island is a nesting ground for birds and the project area is part of Coastal Regulation Zones-IA and IB
• India's National Marine Turtle Action Plan, released in February 2021, names Galathea Bay in the list of "Important Marine Turtle Habitats in India"
• The turtle nesting sites will be disturbed due to the project, dolphins and other species will be harmed by dredging
• The Galathea Bay Wildlife Sanctuary was de-notified as a wildlife sanctuary by the government to give environmental clearance for the proposed port project
• Two weeks after the denotification, the MoEFCC declared a zero- extent eco-sensitive zone for the Galathea and Campbell Bay National Parks
• This made the pristine forest land along the central and south-eastern coast of the island available for the project
• National Green Tribunal

  Established in 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010
• During the summit of United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992, India vowed to provide judicial and administrative remedies to the victims of the pollutants and other environmental damage
• National Green Tribunal


  First body of its kind that is required by its parent statute to apply the polluter pays principle and the principle of sustainable development
• India is the third country following Australia and New Zealand to have such a system
• Aim of National Green Tribunal

  Effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources<|>Enforcement of any legal right relating to environment and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property and for matters connected with the same
• The Tribunal draws inspiration from Article 21 of the Constitution i.e., Protection of life and personal liberty, which assures the citizens of India the right to a healthy environment
• The Tribunal shall not be bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but shall be guided by principles of natural justice
• The Tribunal is mandated to make and endeavour for disposal of applications or appeals finally within 6 months of filing of the same
• Currently, it has five places of sitting: New Delhi (the Principal Place of Sitting), Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai
• Members of National Green Tribunal

  • Chairperson
  • Judicial Members
  • Expert members
• Chairperson of NGT

  Retired Judge of the Supreme Court, can hold office for a period of three years or till the age of sixty- five years, whichever is earlier, and is not eligible for reappointment
• Justice Lokeshwar Singh Panta became its first Chairman on 18 October 2010
• Honourable Justice Prakash Shrivastava is the incumbent chairman of NGT
• Judicial members

  Retired Judges of High Courts