Jairam Ramesh Warns Great Nicobar Project Threatens Tribes

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, a former environment minister, has sounded the alarm on the Great Nicobar Mega Infrastructure Project, warning that it endangers the survival of the island’s indigenous tribal communities and violates environmental regulations. In a scathing critique on Tuesday, Ramesh accused the Modi government of pushing through a flawed and rushed environmental impact assessment (EIA), labeling the project a grave threat to the Shompen and Nicobarese tribes.

“The project will, without any doubt, disrupt and displace the tribal communities of Great Nicobar and threaten their survival and well-being,” Ramesh declared on X, arguing that it flouts existing laws and policies. He criticized the EIA as “incomplete and flawed,” noting that it commenced before terms of reference were issued and that additional studies were ordered only after clearances were granted, exposing procedural lapses.

The controversy gained traction after Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi penned a September 8 newspaper article calling the project a “planned misadventure” that jeopardizes indigenous communities and mocks legal processes. Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav countered on September 12, defending the project’s clearances and its necessity for national development. However, Ramesh dismissed Yadav’s response for sidestepping core concerns, including the project’s ecological and social toll.

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Ramesh highlighted expert video reports on the Shompen and Nicobarese, which he claims were ignored, and argued that notifying new tribal reserves cannot offset the loss of de-notified areas due to Great Nicobar’s unique bio-geophysical diversity. “Planting trees in Haryana will not compensate for clear-felling biodiversity-rich forests in Great Nicobar,” he said, calling the tradeoff a “bogus equivalence.” He also alleged that scientists in public institutions faced pressure to produce favorable reports, with some resigning rather than complying.

The Great Nicobar project, which includes a transshipment port, airport, and township, has sparked fierce debate over its environmental and cultural impacts. Legal challenges to its clearances are ongoing, with critics like Ramesh branding it an “ecological disaster” that prioritizes development over the island’s fragile ecosystem and indigenous heritage. As public and judicial scrutiny intensifies, the project remains a flashpoint in the clash between progress and preservation.

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