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From a fortified lighthouse to a convention centre and museum, the Directorate of Lighthouses and Lightships at Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair) has sought clearance from the Andaman and Nicobar Coastal Zone Management Authority and the Environment Ministry to undertake protection and development work at Indira Point, India’s southernmost location, on Great Nicobar Island.
Official documents reviewed by The Indian Express show the proposed work falls in the ecologically sensitive Island CRZ (ICRZ)-1A and ICRZ-IVA categories.
Under ICRZ-1A, no development activity is permitted except for certain specified purposes such as eco-tourism and the construction of roads and roads on stilts — and, in exceptional cases, for defence, strategic purposes and public utilities, subject to detailed impact assessment. Under ICRZ-IV, several activities, including land reclamation, bunding and control of erosion, are permitted and regulated.
The development comes against the backdrop of the proposed Great Nicobar Island mega infrastructure project, which involves construction of a transshipment port at Galathea Bay, a greenfield airport, a power plant and an integrated township. Indira Point is located to the south of Galathea Bay.
According to the Indira Point project’s ICRZ map report, prepared by Anna University, the lighthouse falls in ICRZ-IVA, while the project site boundary and other proposed facilities, including a temporary approach bund, fall in ICRZ-IA.
The development work has been proposed mainly on the grounds that the lighthouse structure needs to be safeguarded and safe access to it restored, in light of continuous erosion, wave action and shoreline changes.
An Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report by PSU WAPCOS Ltd, and a Detailed Project Report by the Department of Ocean Engineering, IIT-Madras, have been submitted as part of the official proposal.
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The EIA report includes a coral reef survey conducted in shallow intertidal and subtidal zones. It does not specify the impact of the proposed project on corals, if any, or the extent of corals found near the lighthouse. The report notes that during the construction phase, activities such as transportation of materials, piling work and shoreline protection work may affect air quality, coastal water quality and marine sediments.
According to a letter dated June 18, sent by the Directorate of Lighthouses and Lightships, Sri Vijaya Puram, under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, to the Andaman and Nicobar Coastal Zone Management Authority under the Union Territory administration, the proposed work will be carried out in phases.
The first phase, records show, involves the construction of a peripheral piled platform around the lighthouse, a piled approach structure, a rock bund, an asphalt road, and a temporary jetty.
The second phase will include reclamation work, construction of onshore facilities, slope protection, and eco-tourism facilities such as a convention centre, cafeteria, viewing tower, cycling track, museum building and a memorial or monument structure.
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Directorate officials said the proposal is yet to be appraised by the Andaman and Nicobar Coastal Zone Management Authority, which has to examine it in accordance with the approved plan and forward it, with its recommendations, to the Environment Ministry.
When contacted, Jayanta Chakraborty, Deputy Director, Directorate of Lighthouses and Lightships, Sri Vijaya Puram, said, “We are not going to execute any prohibited activities. Any activity proposed will be carried out after obtaining the relevant and prior clearance from the competent agency.”
The Indira Point lighthouse was established in 1972 on an area of 11.5 hectares, with a 35-metre-high cast iron tower. In the 2004 tsunami, the southern shores of Great Nicobar Island subsided by about 4.25 metres, leaving much of the area surrounding the lighthouse closer to the sea. While the lighthouse tower survived the tsunami, its peripheral structures were damaged or washed away.
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