Recipe for ecological disaster: Jairam to Rajnath on Great Nicobar project

Congress Rajya Sabha MP and general-secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh on Sunday wrote to defence minister Rajnath Singh, raising concerns over the Great Nicobar Island Project, saying the project in its current form is a recipe for “ecological disaster”.

The Congress has repeatedly expressed reservations about the project, alleging that it could severely impact the region’s ecology and undermine tribal rights.

In his letter to Singh, Ramesh said there was unanimous agreement on the need to bolster India’s defence preparedness, but suggested that the country’s strategic objectives around Great Nicobar could be achieved through alternative measures with far less environmental damage.

According to him, several such proposals have already been put forward by naval officers in their writings and could significantly strengthen India’s defence capabilities without adversely affecting the fragile ecosystem.

Sharing the letter on X, Ramesh wrote, “After writing to the Union Minister of Environment, Forests, & Climate Change and the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, I have written to the Raksha Mantri on the Great Nicobar Island Project.”

Referring to his earlier correspondence, the former Environment minister said the Government of India had issued a press note on 1 May titled “The Great Nicobar Island Project: FAQs”.

Ramesh said he had written to the Union environment minister on 10 May, arguing that the FAQs presented a “completely false picture” of the project’s environmental clearances, which he claimed had been granted on highly questionable grounds.

He further said that on 13 May, he had written to the Union tribal affairs minister alleging that the FAQs “misrepresent totally” the status of compliance with the Forest Rights Act, 2006, during the clearance process.

According to Ramesh, the process “flagrantly violate, in letter and spirit, the individual and collective rights given to tribal communities by Parliament.”

“Now I am writing to you since the project, which is essentially a commercial venture and is facing growing public criticism because of the ecological damage it will cause, is being sought to be justified by the Government of India supposedly on overriding security considerations,” he said in the letter to Singh.

“Let me straightaway say that there can be no two opinions on the need to strengthen our nation's defences. There can also be no two opinions on the need to project India's strategic capabilities in a credible manner,” he added.

Ramesh then outlined a series of alternatives for the minister’s consideration. “Even so, I submit the following for your consideration. First, INS Baaz located in Campbell Bay on the Great Nicobar Island was commissioned in July 2012. But plans for at least trebling the length of the existing runway and making a naval jetty have been awaiting approval for almost five years. These plans have far less adverse environmental impacts as well,” he said.

He also pointed to existing infrastructure under the Andaman and Nicobar Command that could be expanded at a significantly lower ecological cost. “These include INS Kardip, INS Kohassa, INS Utkrosh, INS Jarawa & the Car Nicobar Air Force Station.”

Questioning the strategic rationale behind certain components of the project, Ramesh said, “Third, the transshipment port and the township that are an essential part of the Great Nicobar Island Project do not enhance our country's military capability in any way. Yet, now that suddenly has emerged as a major justification for them.”

“Finally, I wish to reiterate that the Great Nicobar Island Project in its present shape and form is a recipe for ecological disaster. I would urge you, as the nation's Raksha Mantri, to seriously consider the above alternatives that have, in fact, been proposed by distinguished naval officers themselves in their writings,” he said.