Hitting backmost astatine Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav for criticising the Congress for opposing the Great Nicobar infrastructure project, enactment person Jairam Ramesh connected Sunday (September 21, 2025) said drafting the nation's attraction to an imminent "ecological and humanitarian disaster" is not "negative politics" but an look of sedate concern.
“The Minister is simply incapable to reply basal questions that the Congress has been repeatedly raising connected the project,” Mr. Ramesh said.
"The Union Minister of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav has accused the Indian National Congress of doing what helium calls 'negative politics' connected the Great Nicobar mega infrastructure project. Drawing the nation's attraction to an imminent ecological and humanitarian catastrophe is NOT 'negative politics'. It is an look of sedate concern," Mr. Ramesh said connected X.
“The Minister is simply incapable to reply basal questions that the INC has been repeatedly raising connected the project,” helium said and asked whether the Great Nicobar Mega Infra Project, which requires the diversion of lakhs of trees, interruption the National Forest Policy, 1988 which states that “tropical rain/moist forests, peculiarly successful areas Andaman & Nicobar Islands should beryllium wholly safeguarded?”
“Compensatory afforestation is ever a mediocre substitute for old-growth forests but the afforestation planned successful this task is farcical. How tin afforestation successful distant Haryana, with a wholly antithetic ecosystem, beryllium considered a genuine offset for the nonaccomplishment of old-growth rainforest unsocial to Great Nicobar? Why has the Government of Haryana already freed up 25% of this onshore for mining alternatively of reserving it for the afforestation?” Mr. Ramesh said.
“Why was the National Commission connected Scheduled Tribes not consulted earlier the Nicobar task was approved,” helium asked.
Union authorities seeks ‘factual report’ connected wood rights ailment concerning Nicobar project
"Why are the concerns of the Tribal Council of Great Nicobar regarding this task being ignored? Why is the Shompen Policy of the Islands, which explicitly calls for the integrity of the assemblage to beryllium prioritised successful each projects, being disregarded?" Mr. Ramesh said.
“Why does the “Social Impact Assessment” conducted arsenic portion of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency successful Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (RFCTLARR) disregard the beingness of the Shompen and the Nicobarese,” the Congress person further asked.
"The Forest Rights Act (2006) holds the Shompen arsenic the sole legally empowered authorization to protect, preserve, regulate, and negociate the tribal reserve. Why does the Project's support process neglect to admit the same?" Mr. Ramesh said.
He pointed retired that the land harbours endangered species, including leatherback turtles, megapodes, saltwater crocodiles, and affluent coral systems. “Won’t this task thrust these taxon person to extinction,” helium asked.
"Why are captious documents relating to this project, including the reports of the ground-truthing workout conducted to reclassify the determination of the planned transshipment larboard from CRZ1-A, not being published successful the open?" Mr. Ramesh said.
“Given the island’s past of terrible subsidence during the 2004 tsunami and its determination successful a high-seismic zone, tin the sustainability of this task beryllium assured,” helium further asked.
"Over 20 years ago, a invaluable publication was published. It was called 'Supreme Court connected Forest Conservation' and it was authored by Ritwick Dutta and Bhupender Yadav. Sadly the archetypal writer has had investigative agencies unleashed against him for his biology activism — but happily the 2nd writer has had a overmuch amended fate. When volition that Bhupender Yadav awake?" helium said.
Editorial | Nicobar triangle: connected the ₹72,000-crore task connected Great Nicobar Island
Mr. Yadav past Thursday (September 18, 2025) deed retired astatine the Congress for opposing the Great Nicobar infrastructure project, accusing it of spreading disorder and indulging successful "negative politics."
Speaking astatine an lawsuit organised by The Public Affairs Forum of India successful New Delhi, Mr. Yadav asserted that the mega task is important for nationalist information and strategical connectivity successful the Indian Ocean Region. Mr. Yadav said lone 1.78% of Great Nicobar's wood country volition beryllium utilized for the project.
His remarks came days aft Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, successful an nonfiction successful The Hindu, termed the ₹72,000 crore task a "planned misadventure" that threatens the endurance of the Shompen and Nicobarese tribes, destroys 1 of the world's astir unsocial ecosystems and is highly susceptible to earthy disasters.
Confusion implicit clearances for Great Nicobar task persists
Ms. Gandhi alleged the task was being pushed done by "making a mockery of each ineligible and deliberative processes."
"The ancestral villages of the Nicobarese tribals autumn successful the project's projected onshore area. The Nicobarese were forced to evacuate their villages during the 2004 tsunami. This task volition present permanently displace this community, ending its imagination of returning to its ancestral villages," Ms. Gandhi had said.
She had besides argued that the Shompen look an adjacent greater menace arsenic the task denotifies a important portion of their reserve and volition bring a ample influx of radical and tourists to the island. In response, Mr. Yadav precocious authored a file successful the aforesaid newspaper, defending the task arsenic 1 of strategic, defence and nationalist importance.
He had said the program is designed to alteration Great Nicobar into a large hub of maritime and aerial connectivity successful the Indian Ocean Region, with an planetary instrumentality transhipment terminal, a greenfield planetary airport, a 450 MVA gas- and solar-based powerfulness works and a township implicit 16 sq km.
