Former Environment Minister and Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh labeled the Rs 81,000-crore Great Nicobar Infrastructure Project (GNIP) as an “ecological and humanitarian catastrophe” and “disaster-prone and risky” in a statement on Wednesday, citing the region’s seismic vulnerability.

Ramesh’s remarks, posted on X (@Jairam_Ramesh), followed a 6.2-magnitude earthquake that struck the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on July 29, 2025, highlighting the area’s location on the seismically active Andaman-Sumatra fault line. He noted the 2004 tsunami, which caused a permanent 4.5-meter subsidence at Indira Point, submerging the lighthouse, as evidence of the region’s susceptibility to major quakes and tsunamis.

Ramesh argued that the project, spearheaded by NITI Aayog and implemented by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO), endangers investment, infrastructure, people, and ecology. The GNIP includes a transshipment port, international airport, township, and a 450 MVA gas-solar power plant across 166.1 sq km, requiring the felling of 9.64 lakh trees and diversion of 130.75 sq km of pristine rainforest, home to the Shompen and Nicobarese tribes. Ramesh criticized the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) by Vimta Labs for downplaying seismic risks, despite studies like IIT-Kanpur’s 2019 report indicating 444 earthquakes in the region from 2010–2020 and a potential for quakes above magnitude 7.5 every 80–120 years.

Last week, Ramesh alleged the project was pushed through via “deception, intimidation, and manipulation,” citing non-disclosure clauses imposed on scientists and inadequate tribal consultations, violating the Forest Rights Act, 2006. The National Green Tribunal’s July 2024 order for a project review and the Tribal Council’s withdrawal of consent in November 2022 underscore ongoing concerns. No government response was immediately available, though the Ministry of Environment’s 2022 clearances and NCSCM’s reclassification of Galathea Bay from CRZ-1A to CRZ-1B have facilitated progress.

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