New Delhi: The Union atmosphere ministry’s Expert Appraisal Committee has given its nod for the event of a strategically-crucial, multi-component mega venture within the Great Nicobar Island which is able to contain felling of round 8.5 lakh timber in pristine rainforests, lack of 12 to twenty hectares of mangrove cowl and appreciable coral translocation.
The venture entails improvement of a military-civil, dual-use airport; worldwide container trans-shipment terminal; a fuel, diesel, and solar-based energy plant, and a township.
The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) advocate granting environmental and coastal regulatory zone clearance to the venture in a gathering on August 22-23.
According to a Union house ministry letter dated March 30 to the atmosphere ministry, the airport proposed at Gandhi Nagar-Shastri Nagar space could be a joint military-civil, dual-use airport, below the operational management of the Indian Navy.
“This project is for defence, strategic, national security, and public purposes. In view of this, the portion of deliberation made for the airport component may not be made public,” it stated.
The Great Nicobar Island (GNI), which is the southernmost a part of the Indian territory, is likely one of the most strategically necessary areas. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands present India a commanding geostrategic presence within the Bay of Bengal and entry to South and Southeast Asia.
The venture is prone to have an effect on 1,761 folks, together with the indigenous Shompen and Nicobarese communities. The island is house to uncommon natural world together with the leatherback sea turtles, Nicobar megapode — a flightless hen endemic to the Nicobar islands; Nicobar Macaque and saltwater crocodiles.
The venture website is inside a ten km radius of the Galathea Bay National Park and the Campbell Bay National Park however is outdoors the ecologically-sensitive zone notified across the two nationwide parks.
Three premier institutes — Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) — offered scientific inputs to the EAC on the affect of the venture on the natural world of the GNI.
“While the ZSI categorically stated in its recommendation that the proposed project will not have impact on the flora and fauna of GNI and can be mitigated through stringent mitigation measures, the WII provided cautious inputs very specific to leatherback sea turtles, only suggesting that it has less site fidelity and can move to other suitable nesting areas in GNI,” the minutes of the assembly learn.
The WII stated the venture could be undertaken however extra intensive evaluation and analysis is required on leatherback sea turtle and its actions to craft site-specific mitigation technique, and advised a 10-year roadmap to systematically implement mitigation measures.
The EAC stated it’s clear that about 30 of the 51 energetic nests of Nicobar megapode throughout the proposed venture areas will probably be completely destroyed. SACON and WII have offered a 10-year mitigation plan on this regard.
The Department of Environment and Forests, Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) Administration has ready a mangrove conservation and administration plan.
The coral cowl required to be translocated from the proposed website is round 10 hectares. Approximately 16,150 of the 20,668 coral colonies will probably be translocated.
The EAC has additionally directed the establishing of three impartial committees to supervise air pollution associated issues, biodiversity and welfare and points associated to Shompen and Nicobarese tribes.
The panel additionally requested the venture proponent to not minimize timber in a single go. “These will be done in a phased manner and depending on the progress of the work on an annual basis.”
“Trees with nesting holes of endemic owls to be identified and geo-tagged with the help from SACON. Such trees shall be safeguarded, as far as possible,” it stated.
The committee stated protected wildlife corridors at eight places alongside the jap aspect of the island connecting forest and seashore by via-ducts (elevated crossings) on the north south arterial street must be offered.
Also, culverts and cover crossings will probably be offered at acceptable places for motion of wildlife.
The use of autos or any leisure means on sea turtle nesting seashores will probably be strictly prohibited.
The A&N administration has been directed to determine a particular medical unit having state-of-art infrastructure, drugs and certified medical workers at GNI inside six months to observe human-induced ailments as a result of anticipated inflow of enormous home and worldwide populations.
“All mechanisms must be in place to ensure that Shompen and Nicobarese are not exposed to the risks related to introduced diseases,” the EAC stated.
The committee stated the disposal of hazardous waste materials, together with batteries, pesticides, organochlorines and so forth, wouldn’t be allowed within the GNI.
The waste generated throughout the development and operation of the venture must be recycled and reused and all rejects have to be transported to the mainland for protected disposal. No municipal landfills will probably be allowed on the island, it stated. PTI GVS ZMN
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