politics · 2026-10-12
Court to hear challenge to ₹92,000 crore island project
Photo: via mint
The Supreme Court allowed a challenge to the ₹92,000 crore Great Nicobar project to proceed in the Calcutta High Court. The court will hear concerns about tribal rights and environmental damage on 25-26 November.
What did the Supreme Court actually decide?
The Supreme Court refused the Centre's plea to halt the Calcutta High Court case against the ₹92,000 crore Great Nicobar project. It did not rule on the merits, but said the High Court should hear the case and decide. The High Court will hear the petitions on 25-26 November, so the challenge proceeds.
How can someone in Hyderabad challenge a project on a remote island?
Normally courts require "locus standi" (a legal term meaning the case directly affects you). But public interest litigation is an exception: anyone can file for communities too isolated, poor or disadvantaged to approach court themselves. Meena Gupta, a retired IAS officer in Hyderabad, was allowed to represent the Shompen and Nicobarese tribes (indigenous groups on the island) just this way. The Supreme Court refused to stop her case.
What rights are the tribes claiming?
The Shompen and Nicobarese tribes claim their customary rights to the island's forests under the Forest Rights Act of 2006, a law that recognises historical rights of forest-dwelling communities. They also claim a constitutionally protected right to preserve their culture and way of life, which the project's forest clearing would violate.
Why are tribal councils disputing their own certificate?
A 2022 certificate (a document claiming forest rights on the island were settled) let the project's clearances pass. Tribal chiefs say it is false, say the meeting backing it was led by non-tribal settlers, and that no rights claims were processed. They want it withdrawn.
Why did the Centre want the case paused?
The Centre wanted the case paused so it could argue that petitioner Meena Gupta, a retired IAS officer living in Hyderabad, had no legal standing to challenge the project in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It claimed she had no direct connection to the island, so her public interest litigation should not proceed.
Why is an Andaman case being heard in Calcutta?
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India (an administrative region governed directly by the central government), and it does not have its own High Court. By law, the Calcutta High Court has jurisdiction over the territory, so the case is heard there, sometimes at its circuit bench in Port Blair, the islands' capital.
Is 20% of the island a lot to clear?
Yes. About 130 sq km of Great Nicobar's roughly 921 sq km of forest, nearly a fifth of the island, would be cleared for the project, which involves felling around 7 to 8 lakh trees (700,000 to 800,000). That's a significant share of a small, ecologically fragile island.
What happens if the High Court blocks the project?
If the High Court blocks the project, work on the ₹92,000 crore Great Nicobar port, airport and township would stop until the order is overturned. The Centre could appeal to the Supreme Court, but for now the tribes' environmental and forest-rights objections would win, and no trees could be felled.
Source: livemint.com