Partly False: The Great Nicobar Airport's '142 Acres of Highest-Protected Coastal Zone' Claim Can't Be Verified
“The proposed Great Nicobar Airport would affect 142 acres of the highest-protected coastal zone category”
The argument in brief
Environmental advocates claim the proposed Great Nicobar Airport would destroy 142 acres of CRZ-IA — India's most protected coastal category. The verdict is partially false: the airport does affect sensitive CRZ-IA areas including mangroves and coral reefs, but the specific 142-acre figure does not appear in any publicly available official EIA or clearance document, and may conflate different project components or rely on preliminary data.
Why it spread
A specific, round-sounding number feels authoritative and is far more shareable than a vague warning. People who are rightly alarmed about ecological destruction in the Nicobar Islands — one of the world's most sensitive ecosystems — naturally amplified a figure that seemed to put a concrete cost on the damage. The number matched what they already had good reason to believe, so few stopped to check its source.
The claim circulating in environmental media and advocacy circles is that the Great Nicobar Airport, part of a massive NITI Aayog-backed development plan, would bulldoze 142 acres of CRZ-IA — the strictest coastal protection category under India's Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 2019. The concern is real and serious. The precise number is not verified.
CRZ-IA is no minor designation. Under the 2019 CRZ Notification from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, it covers the most ecologically sensitive habitats — mangroves, coral reefs, and nesting beaches. Any construction there requires special clearances and faces strict legal restrictions. The Great Nicobar project, which also includes a transshipment port, township, and power plant, clearly intersects with these zones.
The problem is the number itself. The Environment Impact Assessment submitted by ANIIDCO — the project's implementing body — references different acreages for different CRZ sub-categories, but the 142-acre figure specifically for CRZ-IA from the airport alone does not appear in publicly available final EIA documents, according to reporting by The Wire and legal analysis by environmental group LIFE India. The figure appears to originate from advocacy analyses or early draft documents, not the finalized official record.
Environmental lawyers and NGOs who reviewed the EIA, including Ritwick Dutta of LIFE India, have flagged that the project does damage CRZ-IA areas — that part is not in dispute. But they also note that the specific acreage figures in public debate may mix up the airport with other project components, or use different measurement methods than the official documents. The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife, which reviewed clearances, does not clearly delineate the 142-acre figure in its published minutes either.
This matters because precision in environmental advocacy is a double-edged tool. When a specific number turns out to be unverifiable, it gives project proponents an easy way to dismiss the broader, legitimate concern. The core issue — that a biodiversity-rich, legally protected coastal ecosystem is being opened up to large-scale industrial development — is well-supported by evidence. The 142-acre figure, as stated, is not.
Sources
- National Green Tribunal (NGT) proceedings and NITI Aayog Project Report
The NITI Aayog holistic development plan for Great Nicobar Island includes an international transshipment port, airport, township, and power plant. The project involves significant coastal land use, but the specific figure of 142 acres in the highest-protected coastal zone (CRZ-IA) has been contested in environmental assessments.
- Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 2019 (MoEFCC)
CRZ-IA is the most ecologically sensitive category under the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 2019, covering mangroves, coral reefs, and other sensitive habitats. Any development in CRZ-IA requires special clearances and is subject to strict restrictions.
- Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Report for Great Nicobar Airport, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO)
The EIA submitted for the Great Nicobar airport project indicates that the airport footprint intersects with ecologically sensitive coastal zones, but the officially cited figure in the EIA documents refers to different acreages for different CRZ sub-categories. The 142-acre figure specifically for CRZ-IA has not been independently confirmed in publicly available EIA documents.
- The Wire - Investigative Reporting on Great Nicobar Project
Reporting by The Wire noted that the airport and associated infrastructure would affect coastal regulation zones, including ecologically sensitive areas, but the specific breakdown of acreage by CRZ sub-category varied across different versions of project documents and expert analyses.
- Ritwick Dutta / LIFE legal analysis of Great Nicobar EIA
Environmental lawyers and NGOs analyzing the EIA pointed out that the project affects CRZ-IA areas including mangroves and coral reefs, but the precise acreage figures cited in public discourse (including the 142-acre claim) may conflate different project components or rely on preliminary rather than final EIA data.
- Standing Committee of National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) Meeting Minutes
NBWL clearance documents for the Great Nicobar project reference impacts on ecologically sensitive coastal and forest areas, but the specific figure of 142 acres for CRZ-IA impact on the airport component alone is not clearly delineated in publicly available official minutes.