The Congress on Sunday urged Parliament to hold a full debate on the Great Nicobar Island Development Project, citing ecological damage, threats to tribal rights, opaque clearance processes and national security concerns. Party general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said the opposition wants detailed scrutiny after Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi visited Great Nicobar on April 28 and publicly condemned the plan.
In a statement, Ramesh said the government’s recent press note and a May 1 response failed to answer serious objections raised by local communities, environmentalists, anthropologists and civil-society experts — concerns that, he added, had already been formally conveyed to the Union environment minister in September 2024. The Congress also charged that the Centre is “rattled” and in “damage control mode” following Gandhi’s visit. During that visit Gandhi called the Campbell Bay project “one of the biggest scams and gravest crimes against the natural and tribal heritage of the country.”
The government has framed the project as a strategic initiative to strengthen India’s presence in the Andaman Sea while balancing development with environmental safeguards and protecting indigenous communities. Ramesh disputed this, saying Great Nicobar’s ecological sensitivity makes even limited land use significant and calling the cited figure of 1.82% land usage “misleading” because it ignores the island’s biodiversity. He warned that Galathea Bay, proposed as the port site, lies in a CRZ‑1A zone, hosts over 20,000 coral colonies and is a key nesting ground for the Giant Leatherback turtle.
Ramesh alleged procedural irregularities during environmental clearances, accusing bodies such as the Wildlife Institute of India and the Zoological Survey of India of facing pressure and later receiving related project contracts — a claim he said raises conflict‑of‑interest concerns. He also criticised the composition of review committees as insufficiently independent.
On tribal issues, the Congress said the Nicobarese community withdrew its no‑objection certificate in 2022, alleging they had been misled about the scale of forest diversion. Ramesh flagged particular worries about the Shompen, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, questioning how free and informed consent could have been secured given the group’s limited outside contact.
Ramesh further said key reports and deliberations linked to forest and environmental clearances remain undisclosed, undermining transparency. He also questioned the feasibility of a proposed international airport projected to handle 10 million passengers a year, noting that figure far exceeds current traffic at Port Blair.
Citing former Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash (retd), Ramesh argued that strengthening the Andaman and Nicobar Command can be pursued separately from the development plan and accused the government of invoking national security to stifle legitimate debate: “There is no need to conflate India’s security imperatives with a large‑scale development project involving a township, tourism infrastructure, and a transshipment terminal.” He reiterated that the project’s far‑reaching environmental, social and strategic implications require thorough parliamentary examination. (PTI)
Original Source: https://assamtribune.com/national/great-nicobar-project-sparks-row-congress-seeks-parliament-debate-flags-risks-1611217
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Publish Date: 2026-05-03 16:45:00
