On August 22, the Expert Appraisal Committee of the Union Environment Ministry gave the green signal to fell 8.5 lakh trees in the Great Nicobar Island (GNI).
The carnage of tree will occur in an area of 12 to 20 hectares which has extensive cover of mangroves and corals. This drastic step will be carried out to have military-civil dual use airport, international container trans-shipment terminal, a gas, diesel and solar-based power plant and a township.
The project will affect 1,761 people including the indigenous Shompen and Nicobarese communities.
The GNI is the southernmost part of India’s territory and is geo-strategically located with access to South and Southeast Asia. But this does not mean that we have a right to massacre lakhs of vegetation for ‘development.’
Where are the tree lovers, environmentalists, Greenpeace activists, and others who are always at the forefront to protect this beautiful planet?
Let us hope that the government does not go ahead with the project and if it does, then the project should be trimmed to the minimum requirement and save as many trees as possible.
