Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh slammed Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav Friday,calling his defense of the Great Nicobar Island Project “disappointing and unsatisfactory.” Ramesh accused Ministry of an “extraordinary level of non-transparency” on environmental safeguards and the High-Powered Committee (HPC) report.
This spat follows a series of letters between Ramesh and Yadav,latest dated June 13,responding to Ramesh's June 3 letter. Ramesh keeps questioning adequacy of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) and opaque handling of HPC's findings on transshipment port’s coastal regulation status.
In June 13 letter,Yadav cited a National Green Tribunal (NGT) ruling that cleared project on February 16,2026. The NGT called project “strategic” and found no major reason to challenge the environmental clearance from 2022. It directed compliance with conditions but backed government's decision to keep HPC report under wraps.
Ramesh hit back,citing an August 2024 Finance Ministry report saying port,a ₹48,862 crore project piece,“lacked strategic objectives.” He argued NGT's backing missed core issues with environmental assessments, which he called “demonstrably inadequate” and not meeting Ministry's guidelines.
The massive ₹81,000-crore project aims for international container transshipment port at Galathea Bay,plus airport,power plant,greenfield township. Critics worry about environmental fallout,like cutting nearly a million trees and building on a leatherback turtle nesting site . Shompen tribal rights also a concern .
Ramesh noted six-monthly compliance reports haven't been out since March 2024,and key conservation plans from Wildlife Institute of India,Zoological Survey of India are missing. He labeled some mitigation ideas,like coral relocation, as “clearly unrealistic and almost impossible.”
He said environmental clearance was given “prematurely and hastily,” arguing government’s strategic rationale doesn’t excuse lack of transparency. Ramesh insists info he seeks doesn’t block any strategic goals.
The ongoing Great Nicobar Island Project debate highlights wider issues in India's environmental governance and indigenous rights . As project moves forward,pressure from environmentalists,political leaders will likely grow…
