Centre submits sealed Nicobar report to NGT

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Monday submitted to National Green Tribunal (NGT), in a sealed envelope, the report of the high-powered committee (HPC) set up by it in 2023 to revisit green clearances for the Rs 81,000-crore Great Nicobar Island mega infrastructure project . The report is unlikely to be made public, with the environment ministry having earlier cited national security as grounds for keeping it under wraps.

Spread over 16,610 hectares, the ambitious project has multiple components, including construction of an integrated international container transshipment terminal, a township, a civil and military use airport and a 450 MVA gasand solar-based power plant.

Apart from the HPC’s report, the environment ministry, in an additional affidavit before the NGT on Monday, submitted that Rs 80 crore has been released till Mar towards wildlife conservation plans and healthcare.

The NGT is hearing an ongoing matter on alleged environmental violations in the project.

The HPC, headed by the environment secretary, was constituted by the tribunal.

In Dec last year, the environment ministry told Parliament that the HPC report had not been made public as it takes up issues and facts related to the strategic interests and security of the country.