Government Defends Great Nicobar Mega Project Amidst Environmental Concerns

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav assured Congress MP Jairam Ramesh of exemplary mitigation measures for the Great Nicobar Mega Infrastructure Project. Despite ecological concerns, Yadav promised strategic benefits while maintaining significant forest cover and planning afforestation. Congress urges suspension and review due to legal and ecological costs.

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has responded to concerns raised by Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh regarding the Great Nicobar Mega Infrastructure Project. In his letter dated August 21, Yadav assured the public that 'exemplary mitigation measures' have been implemented to reduce the project's environmental impact, citing strategic, national, and defense interests.

On August 8, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh voiced serious concerns about the project on social media platform X, describing it as leading to the 'calamitous destruction of forests,' home to the Shompen tribe and diverse wildlife, and criticized the lack of proper environmental and legal consultations with stakeholders. In his reply, Yadav highlighted that despite forest land diversion, 82 per cent of Great Nicobar remains under protected forests, eco-sensitive zones, and biosphere reserves, far exceeding the standard requirement to maintain two-thirds of the area under forest cover.

Yadav also mentioned alternative measures, saying that due to the unavailability of plantation areas on Great Nicobar Island, efforts would be made to plant native species in non-notified forest lands, arid landscapes, and urban vicinities to provide ecological benefits. However, Ramesh claimed that compensatory afforestation could never substitute the loss of natural forests. He further demanded an immediate suspension of all clearances for the project, citing numerous violations of due process and legal and constitutional provisions protecting tribal communities, and called for a thorough impartial review by the relevant parliamentary committees.

(With inputs from agencies.)