Modi govt ‘manipulated’ Great Nicobar maps to push mega port, alleges Ramesh

In a startling revelation that casts fresh scrutiny on the Great Nicobar Mega Infrastructure Project, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has accused the Narendra Modi government of manipulating official maps to clear the way for one of India’s most ambitious port developments.

According to Ramesh, the changes in the cartographic record represent not a scientific update, but a bureaucratic sleight of hand designed to bypass environmental safeguards.

"Another day, another revelation of how the Modi government has bulldozed the Great Nicobar Mega Infra Project through due process. Now we learn that official maps of the island have been airbrushed to remove corals from the map," said Ramesh in a post on X.

The controversy revolves around the southern and western coasts of Great Nicobar Island, particularly Galathea Bay, the proposed site for an international container transshipment terminal.

Maps from 2020 clearly marked these areas as home to extensive coral reefs, while almost the entire island was designated CRZ-IA — a coastal regulation zone where construction of ports and other large-scale infrastructure is strictly prohibited.

However, by 2021, the narrative on paper had shifted dramatically. The updated government maps relocated the reefs mid-sea, a biologically impossible position for coral formations, effectively erasing ecological obstacles from the map. Similarly, Galathea Bay mysteriously lost its CRZ-IA status, paving the way for the mega-port project.

“This is not a reflection of changing ecosystems,” Ramesh said, “but a deliberate rewrite of reality to suit corporate ambition. When nature stands in the way, bureaucracy redraws it.”

Environmentalists fear that the redrawn maps undermine the delicate ecology of Great Nicobar, a jewel of biodiversity in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Coral reefs, mangroves, and other coastal ecosystems act as vital buffers against storms and sea-level rise, and their erasure from official documentation could have lasting consequences for the island’s flora, fauna, and local communities.

The revelations have reignited debate over the balance between development and conservation, raising questions about how far policy makers can go to sidestep legal and environmental protections in the pursuit of infrastructural ambition.

As the mega-project progresses, the world watches closely — not just for cranes and containers, but for the fate of an ecosystem that has stood for millennia.