Controversy Surrounds Great Nicobar Infrastructure Project

The Congress party has criticized the Great Nicobar Island infrastructure project as a potential ecological and humanitarian disaster. They urge Prime Minister Modi to pause the project and establish an independent review panel. Congress highlights potential environmental damage and questions the allocation of port contracts.

The Congress party has condemned the Great Nicobar Island infrastructure project, deeming it a potential ecological and humanitarian disaster. The party has called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to halt the project and convene an independent review panel to scrutinize its feasibility and potential impacts.

Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary, criticized the government for pressing forward with the Rs 72,000 crore mega project despite objections he raised previously. Ramesh highlighted the project's components, which include an international port, airport, power plant, township, and tourism facilities, asserting that they will devastate significant tracts of tropical forest.

Ramesh further warned of proposals to expand the project with additional facilities, leading to further biodiversity loss. He criticized the government's environmental stance and urged transparency in the project's contract allocation, pressing for an immediate reevaluation.

(With inputs from agencies.)