India, July 8 -- The last few weeks have seen an important entrant into the public discussion on the Great Nicobar mega-infrastructure project. DK Joshi - former chief of the Indian Navy, current lieutenant governor (LG) of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and also the chief administrator of the islands under whose watch the Rs.92,000 mega-project initiated more than five years ago is to be executed - has recently penned many articles, made presentations and given interviews on the project.

The primary thrust of his argument, part of a visible narrative-building effort, is that the Great Nicobar project is crucial for national security and is being pursued with ecological responsibility. The LG does not go into any specific details or sub...