Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has accused the Centre of lacking transparency in the Great Nicobar Island project and questioned the adequacy of its environmental impact assessments.
In a letter to Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, Ramesh alleged that several mandatory compliance reports, mitigation plans and scientific studies have not been made public.
The Congress has intensified its opposition to the project, alleging it poses a serious ecological threat and demanding greater public disclosure.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday wrote to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, accusing the Centre of maintaining an "extraordinary level of non-transparency" over the Great Nicobar Island project and asserting that its environmental impact assessments are "demonstrably inadequate".
The latest letter follows a series of exchanges between the two leaders over the project in recent years.
Responding to Yadav's June 13 reply to his earlier letter, Ramesh said the environmental studies underpinning the project "fall woefully short" of the Ministry's own guidelines.
Raises Transparency Concerns
Ramesh alleged that several documents required under the environmental clearance conditions have not been placed in the public domain.
He pointed out that six-monthly compliance reports have not been published since March 2024, while minutes of project monitoring committee meetings are uploaded months after they are held.
The Congress leader also said several conservation and mitigation plans prepared by institutions including the Wildlife Institute of India, Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Zoological Survey of India, Botanical Survey of India, National Institute of Oceanography and Indian Institute of Forest Management have not been made public.
He argued that some revised proposals were prepared only after appraisal by expert committees, raising concerns over their adequacy.
Questions Ecological Safeguards
Ramesh further claimed that an updated Environment Management Plan and several scientific studies required under the project remain unavailable.
He argued that some mitigation proposals, including the large-scale relocation of coral colonies, are unrealistic and nearly impossible to implement.
The Congress leader also sought the publication of the report prepared by the High-Powered Committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal, along with the coastal survey conducted by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management.
"Serious questions on its environmental impact assessment and legitimate concerns on its grave ecological consequences remain unanswered," he wrote.
Congress Steps Up Attack
The Congress has intensified its criticism of the Great Nicobar project in recent weeks.
Earlier this week, the party alleged that the proposed transshipment port at Galathea Bay would cause extensive ecological damage, including large-scale destruction of coral reefs.
Ramesh has also written separately to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh over the project and to Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, urging strict implementation of the Forest Rights Act.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has alleged that the project is being pursued to benefit private commercial interests under the guise of strategic development. He recently released a video after visiting the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, urging people to support a campaign to protect the region's fragile ecology.
The Centre's Great Nicobar project proposes the development of an international container transshipment port, a civilian-cum-naval airport, a township and a power plant on the island.
