India, Feb. 16 -- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has cleared the way for a controversial mega port project in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, rejecting a series of petitions that warned of potentially devastating ecological damage and violations of environmental norms and coastal regulations.

The NGT has granted approval for the proposed port at Galathea Bay on Great Nicobar Island, allowing the project to proceed subject to the environmental clearance (EC) already granted and compliance with the Island Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2019 (ICRZ-2019).

Galathea Bay, on Great Nicobar Island in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, is considered both ecologically sensitive and strategically significant. The area was once a nestin...