Admin invites tenders for research stations at Great Nicobar sites
On February 3, the Andaman Public Works Department invited bids for setting up of “research stations for holistic development at Campbell Bay,” the administrative area of Great Nicobar and among the few inhabited areas on the island.
New Delhi: The Andaman and Nicobar Administration has started inviting tenders for infrastructure associated with the Great Nicobar mega infrastructure project.
On February 3, the Andaman Public Works Department invited bids for setting up of “research stations for holistic development at Campbell Bay,” the administrative area of Great Nicobar and among the few inhabited areas on the island.
Separately, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation Limited (ANIIDCO), the company executing the project, has invited applications to engage experts as consultants to assist ANIIDCO/Andaman and Nicobar Administration in pursuing various infrastructure projects.
These consultants include urban planner; infrastructure specialist and also a legal expert with experience in legal advisory for real estate, township development, among others.
In October, the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) issued a detailed expression of interest to install power infrastructure at Great Nicobar Island. The last date of submission of bids was November 8, 2024.
HT reported on September 28, 2024 that ANIIDCO had begun the process for the selection of contractors to carry out “enumeration, felling, logging, and transportation” of trees as part of the Great Nicobar development project.
ANIIDCO is yet to respond to HT’s queries on the nature of work of the research stations.
However, HT reported on February 4 that various wildlife and biodiversity research organisations had submitted research proposals for monitoring of impact from the Great Nicobar project. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) for example, has submitted a research proposal on a conservation plan for three important species, Leatherback Sea Turtle, Nicobar Megapode, and Saltwater Crocodile ; and the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History on a biodiversity management plan and bird hazard risk assessment study for the proposed international airport .
Environmental researchers who did not wish to be named said the research stations will be needed for long-term research work to be taken up by these institutions at Great Nicobar.
The Great Nicobar development project has been contentious mainly because of its likely impact on the pristine biodiversity, rainforests and endemic species on the island.
The Nicobar Islands fall in the Sundaland Biodiversity Hotspot and cover the western half of the Indonesian archipelago — a group of some 17,000 islands stretching 5,000 kilometers — that is dominated by the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Concerns have also been raised about the impact of such a mega infrastructure project on the Shompen, a particularly vulnerable tribal group, and the Nicobarese.
