The Congress party on Wednesday criticized Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent comments regarding the Great Nicobar Mega Infra Project, asserting that they undermine legal and environmental protections. Congress leaders expressed alarm over potential ecological damage and threats to local tribes.
Earlier this month, a group of prominent environmentalists and scholars sent a letter to Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav. They stressed that essential regulations such as the ANPAT Regulation (1956) and the Shompen Policy (2015) received inadequate attention amid the rush to approve project clearances.
Signatories of the letter, including Padma Bhushan winner Ramachandra Guha and wildlife biologist Ravi Chellam, highlighted that the Environmental Appraisal Committee neglected critical anthropological and ecological objections. They pointed out that the Galathea Wildlife Sanctuary had been denotified, while three new sanctuaries emerged without consulting the Nicobarese and Shompen populations.
They described the government’s actions as a “hollow exercise” primarily aimed at meeting Environmental Clearance requirements to facilitate the project. The letter drew attention to a perceived “glaring conflict of interest,” given the involvement of government institutes in both generating and monitoring environmental management plans.
The environmentalists urged Minister Yadav to detach political motivations from the decision-making process surrounding the Great Nicobar Project. They implored him to consider the substantial and irreversible negative impact the initiative could impose on local ecosystems and indigenous communities.
Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi echoed these sentiments, calling the project a “planned misadventure.” In her recent article in *The Hindu*, Gandhi underscored the potential dangers it poses to the survival of the Shompen and Nicobarese tribes, as well as the unique ecosystem found on Great Nicobar Island.
Gandhi contended that the project undermines legal and deliberative processes designed to protect India’s environment and indigenous rights. She emphasized that the urgent need for sustainable practices is paramount in determining the overall fate of the region.
In a defense of the project, Environment Minister Yadav countered Congress’s claims in a column published in the same newspaper. He characterized the Great Nicobar Mega Infra Project as a venture of strategic, defense, and national importance, dismissing the opposition’s concerns as unfounded.
The future of the Great Nicobar Project remains uncertain as the government grapples with balancing economic development and environmental preservation. As activist voices grow louder, the spotlight continues to shine on the implications of this controversial undertaking.
