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Relevance: GS Paper III (Environment — Biodiversity, Conservation) & GS Paper II (Statutory Bodies) Source: ANIIDCO committee minutes / news, June 2026

1 · What happened

The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has picked four new sites on the west coast of Great Nicobar to which it will shift live corals and giant clams. These corals lie near Galathea Bay, where the government is building a huge international shipping port as part of the Great Nicobar Island mega-project.

Moving the corals first is a condition of the project’s environmental clearance — the work must be done before any construction begins. The plan is to move 16,150 coral colonies and tag each one to track if it survives. But scientists are sharply divided on whether a living reef can really be moved and survive elsewhere.

2 · The Story So Far

First, what is a coral — and what is “translocation”?

  • A coral is not a plant or a rock; it is a colony of tiny living animals (called polyps) that slowly build a hard limestone reef.
  • Reefs are the “rainforests of the sea” — they shelter huge numbers of fish and marine life.
  • Translocation simply means carefully moving these living corals from one place to another. The idea: lift the corals out of the port’s path and re-settle them at safer spots, so the reef life is not lost when construction starts.

1 Survey & count. ZSI surveys the reef near Galathea Bay. Of 20,668 colonies found, 16,150 (in shallow water up to 15 m) are marked to be moved. The deeper 4,518 need more study.
2 Move to four new sites. The corals and giant clams are shifted to four chosen spots on the island’s west coast.
3 GPS-tag & monitor. A GPS tag is fixed on each colony so its survival can be tracked over time.
4 Only then, build. Port construction may begin after the corals are safely moved — as the clearance conditions require.

Why many scientists are worried.

  • A reef is a living, three-dimensional system — corals, seagrass, fish and tiny creatures all woven together over centuries. Critics say moving broken pieces of coral is not the same as moving a working reef.
  • Tough, fast-growing types (like Acropora) may survive, but many of the 50–60 other coral kinds here may not. Experts also question the survival figures and want independent, third-party checks — not just the agency’s own word.

3 · The Protection, the Legal Fight and the Challenges

  • Strong legal protection: corals and giant clams sit in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 — the highest level of protection. So ZSI needs formal legal approvals even to touch or move them.
  • The court fight: the Centre said no corals lie on the exact port site; activists used the government’s own ICRZ 2019 (Island Coastal Regulation Zone) maps to argue corals are present, and that clearing them for a port is not allowed. On 16 February 2026, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) dismissed their plea but ordered strict protection of the reefs.
  • The turtles too: Galathea Bay is one of the world’s most important nesting beaches for leatherback sea turtles. A recent survey reportedly found around 141 nests, and experts want the turtles satellite-tagged before work starts.
  • A rich, fragile island: Great Nicobar is a biodiversity treasure — home to the endemic Nicobar Megapode, saltwater crocodiles, the Nicobar macaque and the giant Robber (Coconut) Crab. The project will also cut down an estimated 8.5 lakh trees.
  • Way ahead: the real test is honest, independent science — third-party audits of how many corals actually survive, turtle tagging first, and long-term GPS monitoring as a model for “build and conserve.”

UPSC Value Box
Coral reef A limestone structure built by tiny animals (polyps); the “rainforest of the sea,” rich in marine life.
Coral translocation Moving live corals to a safer site. Here: 16,150 of 20,668 colonies to four west-coast sites, each GPS-tagged.
Galathea Bay Site of the proposed international transhipment port; a globally important leatherback turtle nesting beach.
Great Nicobar Project ~₹91,000 cr plan (port, airport, township) run by ANIIDCO; involves felling ~8.5 lakh trees.
Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (Schedule I) Highest legal protection; corals and giant clams are listed, so moving them needs statutory approval.
ICRZ Notification, 2019 Island Coastal Regulation Zone rules for A&N/Lakshadweep coasts — the basis of the activists’ legal argument.
NGT National Green Tribunal — a statutory body (NGT Act, 2010) for environment cases. On 16 Feb 2026 it upheld the clearance.
ZSI · WII · SACON Under MoEFCC. ZSI (faunal survey — moving the corals); WII (autonomous, Dehradun — turtles, megapode); SACON (autonomous, Coimbatore — birds, coconut crabs).
Endemic species watch Nicobar Megapode, leatherback turtle, saltwater crocodile, Nicobar macaque, Robber (Coconut) Crab.

MCQ Practice Question
Q. With reference to corals and conservation bodies, consider the following statements:

  1. Coral reefs are built by tiny animals called polyps, not by plants.
  2. The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
  3. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) is a statutory body, not a constitutional body.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only    (b) 1 and 3 only    (c) 2 and 3 only    (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only

  • Statement 1 — Correct: Corals are colonies of tiny animals (polyps) that build limestone reefs — they are animals, not plants.
  • Statement 2 — Incorrect (the trap): The ZSI is a subordinate office under the MoEFCC, not an autonomous one. It is the WII and SACON that are autonomous institutions — the status has been swapped here.
  • Statement 3 — Correct: The NGT was set up under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, making it a statutory (not constitutional) body.
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