Congress red-flags Great Nicobar project: How can township be declared 'strategic project'?

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has reached out to Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav regarding the infrastructure project on Great Nicobar Island. He claims that the high-powered committee responsible for reviewing the project's environmental clearances is "biased" and has not conducted a proper reassessment.

In his letter, Ramesh expressed serious worries about the invitations for expressions of interest being issued while the National Green Tribunal (NGT) is still considering related petitions. He questioned the credibility and composition of the committee, stating that it has failed to perform a thorough evaluation as directed.

"It is also a matter of grave concern that while the NGT deliberates on petitions before it, ANIIDCO has already invited expressions of interest that is a precursor for the clearing of around 65 square km of biodiversity-rich forests. I believe the Government of India is hell-bent on inflicting an ecological and humanitarian disaster on our country," the former environment minister said.

Ramesh referenced media reports indicating that the Environment Ministry has submitted a counter affidavit to the NGT, asserting that the clearances for the project comply with the Island Coastal Regulation Zone (ICRZ) rules and have followed NGT orders for reassessment.

"I read news reports about the counter-affidavit filed by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change in the National Green Tribunal on the Great Nicobar Island Development Project on which we have had detailed exchanges earlier. "First, I am shocked that the High-Powered Committee (HPC) constituted by the MoEF&CC in pursuance of the NGT's directive to review environmental and CRZ clearances did NOT associate any independent institution or expert when the NGT had given it the flexibility to do so," he said.

"It is truly amazing that the HPC has among its members (i) NITI Aayog that conceived the project; (ii) the project proponent Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO);(iii) a representative of the MOEF&CC's Expert Appraisal Committee that recommended the clearances in the first place; and (iv) MOEF&CC that granted the clearances. Need I say anything more on the credibility and integrity of the HPC?" he said.

"The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had clearly diluted the NGT's directive and gave very limited terms of reference to the HPC. As I recall, the NGT gave only 'by way of instance' just three 'unanswered deficiencies'. The terms of reference have been restricted to just these three examples cited by the NGT in its order that led to the constitution of the HPC," he said.

The HPC, howsoever, biased by its very composition, has not carried out any meaningful and comprehensive reassessment as it had been directed to do, he said.

"The HPC's report has been kept secret. I don't understand this: when the original process for grant of clearances itself was not classified as 'privileged and confidential', how can a review, howsoever flawed, and that too mandated by the court be classified thus? How can a township focusing on promotion of tourism, a commercial trans-shipment port and a power plant be suddenly declared as 'strategic projects' on which no public debate can take place?" he said.

"As you well know, the categorization of coastal areas into zones is based on their ecological sensitivity. Construction activities are prohibited in certain zones. According to the NGT's order of April 2023, slightly over 7 square kms of the total project area fell in such a prohibited zone. Now, the MoEF&CC's counter-affidavit denies that this is the case. What is the basis of the dramatic U-turn and what confidence can be placed in the new set of facts being presented?" Ramesh said in his letter dated September 28.

Ramesh and Yadav have had a series of exchanges via letters on the project. Ramesh on August 27 had hit back at the Environment Ministry's assertion that clearances for the Great Nicobar Island project were granted after careful consideration, saying the Environmental Impact Assessment study for it appears to have been primed to ensure its clearance in the form proposed by the NITI Aayog.

In his detailed letter, Ramesh acknowledged the project's strategic and defence significance but emphasised that this should not overshadow discussions about its effects on the island’s tribal communities and natural environment.

"Nobody can be against 'strategic considerations' but surely a better balance between them and ecological concerns can and must be struck which is certainly missing in this case," he said in his communication to Yadav which came in continuation of a series of letter exchanges between the two.

In response to a letter from Ramesh on August 10, Yadav, on August 21, had said the environmental and forest clearances granted by his ministry have "withstood judicial scrutiny".

Agency