After weighing the following pros and cons, benefits, risk and mitigation strategies, the project was granted the environmental clearance by the
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)'s Expert Appraisal Committee in November 2022.
Flora and tree felling The project involves large‑scale diversion of forest land for infrastructure development, including a transshipment terminal, airport, township and associated facilities. According to the Government of India’s response to a parliamentary question, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change estimated that approximately **964,000 trees (about 9.64 lakh)** would be affected by tree felling associated with the project’s forest land diversion, based on figures provided by the junior environment minister in 2024. These estimates come from official annexures and responses on the environment ministry’s website, which stated that the number of trees to be felled would be about 852,245, with the figure of less than 964,000 based on the proportion of cleared forest area where felling is envisaged. Some independent scientists have expressed concern that these official estimates may be underestimates, arguing that forest density in parts of Great Nicobar is higher than assumed and that actual tree loss could be significantly greater if denser stands are cleared, potentially affecting millions of trees.
Coral The Zoological Survey of India’s (ZSI) 2021 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project noted that coral colonies within parts of the proposed construction area would need to be translocated to mitigate impacts. Maps prepared in 2020 by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), under MoEFCC, showed coral reefs along sections of Great Nicobar’s southern and western coasts, including in Galathea Bay, where a transshipment terminal is proposed. Updated NCSCM maps released in 2021 depicted coral reefs farther offshore and showed a reduced extent of CRZ-IA zones along parts of the coastline. Like all islands in the region which have been isolated over geological time which have led to the evolution of numerous endemic species, several yet to be discovered and formally named. The "Great Nicobar crake" is an undescribed species of bird as of 2026 while the wolf snake
Lycodon irwini was described only in 2025. While the MoEFCC proposed 3 conservation sites on
Little Nicobar, Menchal Island and Meroe Island to mitigate risks, the Tribal Council of Campbell Bay opposes these sanctuaries, citing a lack of consultation and their long-standing coexistence with the island's wildlife.
Human This project which includes two new
planned cities in the region will increase population to over 350,000, which may cause a threat to the indigenous communities. After the environmental clearance by MoEFCC, some experts and researchers expressed concerns to
Ministry of Tribal Affairs about vulnerability of indigenous communities on the island. Around 1761 individuals belonging to the indigenous
Shompen and
Nicobarese tribes live in the island. 853 square kilometres (approximately 92% of the total area) of the Great Nicobar Island is designated as tribal reserve under the Andaman and Nicobar Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation, 1956. This means that the land is meant for exclusive use of the community and others cannot access the area without their express permission. Around 10% of tribal reserve of the island will be affected by this project. Indigenous people live outside the project area and the tribal reserve also falls outside the project area.
Survival International, a global NGO campaigning for indigenous rights, has said that the mega-development will put
the Shompen at risk of being wiped out. In February 2024, 39 genocide experts from 13 countries warned that the development “will be a death sentence for the Shompen, tantamount to the international crime of genocide”. They said that the proposed population increase and exposure to outside populations would lead to mass deaths because the Shompen have little to no immunity to infectious outside diseases. ==Present status==