Great Nicobar project threatens tribal survival: Jairam Ramesh

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday, 16 September, raised serious concerns over the Great Nicobar Mega Infrastructure Project, warning that it threatens to displace indigenous tribal communities and disrupt their survival and well-being. He said the project “goes against all extant regulations, policies, and laws.”

Ramesh, a former environment minister, criticised the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the project, calling it “rushed, incomplete, and flawed.” He argued that the fact that further impact studies have been mandated after clearance exposes the assessment’s shortcomings. He also noted that the EIA began before the official terms of reference were issued.

“The project will, without doubt, disrupt and displace the tribal communities of Great Nicobar,” Ramesh said on X, formerly Twitter. He added that video reports by experts on the Shompen and Nicobarese tribes had been ignored, and that simply notifying additional areas as tribal reserves cannot compensate for areas being de-notified.

Ramesh also rejected claims that afforestation in other states, such as Haryana, could offset the destruction of the island’s multi-species, biodiversity-rich forests, calling the equivalence “bogus.” He further alleged that scientists in public institutions faced pressure to produce reports favorable to the project, with some resigning rather than comply.

Earlier, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi described the project as a “planned misadventure” and warned it poses an existential threat to Great Nicobar’s indigenous tribes. She accused the government of bypassing legal and deliberative processes in pushing the project forward.

Environment minister Bhupendra Yadav, responding to the criticism, defended the project as vital for national development, asserting that all necessary clearances have been obtained.

Ramesh’s comments follow a broader public debate on the project, which has faced legal challenges despite government approvals.

With PTI inputs