Jairam Ramesh critiques Great Nicobar project's environmental impact claims

On Thursday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh criticized the Environment Ministry's assertion that 8.5 lakh trees would be cut down for the Great Nicobar Integrated Development Project, calling it a "gigantic under-estimate." Ramesh highlighted a media report on X, which stated that the government claimed only 50 percent of the 6,500 hectares of forest area would be deforested, leading to the estimation of 8.5 lakh trees being felled. However, a rainforest ecologist with three decades of experience suggested that the actual deforestation figures are significantly higher.

In his post on X, Ramesh remarked, "The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change has been claiming that 8.5 lakh trees will get felled while executing the Great Nicobar Integrated Development Project. This has been known to be a gigantic under-estimate. Now we have independent estimates that anywhere between 32 lakh and 58 lakh trees will have to be destroyed. It could even be much more depending on the rich forest areas being cleared out."

Ramesh asserted that the only rational course of action is to pause the project and conduct a comprehensive review by an independent and qualified team, urging that "egos and prestige" should not interfere with this process. He has previously warned that the current design of the Great Nicobar Island infrastructure project poses a significant ecological threat.

In a letter addressed to Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, Ramesh raised concerns about the credibility and conclusions of a high-powered committee (HPC) assigned to reevaluate the environmental clearances for the Great Nicobar Island project. The two leaders have exchanged multiple letters regarding the project.

On August 27, Ramesh responded to the Environment Ministry's claim that project clearances were granted after meticulous consideration, suggesting that the Environmental Impact Assessment study seemed tailored to ensure approval as proposed by the NITI Aayog. He emphasized that even recognizing the project's strategic and defense importance does not diminish the need to discuss its effects on local tribal communities and the island's ecosystem.

"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 stated in his correspondence to Yadav, which followed a series of exchanges between them. In response to Ramesh’s letter on August 10, Yadav stated on August 21 that the environmental and forest clearances granted by his ministry have "withstood judicial scrutiny."