Jairam Ramesh flags ecological havoc of Great Nicobar project, cites EIA gaps in letter to minister

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday continued to raise strong objections to the Great Nicobar Island mega infrastructure project, warning that "ecological havoc is assured" and accusing the government of bypassing comprehensive environmental assessment norms. He, however, appreciated that there are still open windows for democratic engagement, even if they are "ritualistic", citing his correspondence with the Union Minister for the past few weeks. In a detailed letter addressed to Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, Ramesh said the environmental clearance granted for the project was not backed by adequate primary data across seasons and violated established guidelines for coastal and island ecosystems.

"For the past two years, the present Minister of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change and I have been having a running exchange of communications on the Great Nicobar Island Project. While ecological havoc is assured, it is somewhat reassuring that democratic windows of engagement - howsoever ritualistic - still exist and provide some hope...," Ramesh said, referencing his latest reply with the minister Yadav. Questioning the adequacy of environmental studies, Ramesh said the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report itself admitted it was only a "rapid reconnaissance study" and that baseline data was collected over a "single seasonal cycle" rather than multiple seasons.

"I am so glad you have admitted that the environmental clearance was not based on comprehensive EIA studies... primary data was collected over only a 'single seasonal cycle'," he wrote, adding that reliance on secondary data "is just not a substitute for primary data collection and project-specific studies." The Congress leader also cited National Green Tribunal (NGT) observations, claiming that earlier judgments had flagged "unanswered deficiencies" in the clearance process and called for further scrutiny. He further referred to ISRO's Space Applications Centre report on Galathea Bay, stating that stretches of the coastline had been marked as erosion-prone. "Given the fact that ISRO's report has marked erosion... is it not prudent to conduct comprehensive EIA studies over three seasons to account for seasonal variations?" he asked.

Ramesh also alleged that official responses were overlooking statutory requirements, including the Ministry of Environment and Forests guidelines mandating multi-seasonal data collection and comprehensive modelling for port projects in island regions. "It is truly extraordinary and even unprecedented that those who have prepared the EIA report... have ended up reviewing their own work and found it to be fine. This is a perversion of due process," he said. Raising concerns over transparency, Ramesh sought the public release of the High-Powered Committee report submitted in a "sealed cover" to the NGT, questioning why the review process should remain confidential when related project documents are already in the public domain. He also warned that the narrative around the project was shifting from environmental justification to strategic necessity. "Faced with incontrovertible evidence of its hugely adverse ecological impacts, the Union Government is now emphasising its supposed strategic rationale," he wrote. Ramesh added that India's strategic needs in the region could be met through strengthening existing defence infrastructure, such as INS Baaz in Campbell Bay, rather than pursuing what he described as an overwhelmingly commercial project.

"The Great Nicobar Island Project as presently conceived is overwhelmingly a commercial enterprise... Many habitats and species will get destroyed even before we are able to inventory them," he cautioned. According to the government, the project seeks to leverage the island's proximity--around 40 nautical miles--to the East-West shipping route and reduce India's dependence on foreign transshipment ports while serving defence and national security objectives. The project includes a 14.2 million twenty-foot equivalent unit (MTEU) International Container Transshipment Terminal, a Greenfield International Airport with a capacity of 4,000 peak hour passengers, a 450 MVA gas-solar power plant and a planned township.