New Delhi [India] July 2 : Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Union government over the controversial Great Nicobar Island Project, releasing a comprehensive anthology documenting his years of opposition to what he termed as an "onward march to environmental disaster."
In an X post, the Congress leader made public a curated collection of his extensive public engagement on the issue, comprising social media posts, parliamentary interventions, and official correspondence with various Union Ministers alongside their responses.
"There has been interest in accessing my extensive public engagement over the past few years on the Great Nicobar Island Project and its devastating impacts on that unique biodiversity-rich ecosystem. Here is an anthology of (i) most of the social media posts; (ii) a couple of brief interventions in Parliament; and most importantly (iii) letters to various Union Ministers and their replies as well," he said.
https://x.com/Jairam_Ramesh/status/2072533770230747139
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he warned that the mega-development project poses a devastating threat to the pristine, biodiversity-rich ecosystem of the island.
"There will undoubtedly be more such public engagements as the Prime Minister continues the onward march to environmental disaster in Great Nicobar," Ramesh said.
He further highlighted five different petitions filed by public-spirited and concerned citizens & civil society groups, which are being heard in the Calcutta High Court.
"These are: 1. Challenge premised on violations of the Eco Sensitive Zone Notification regarding Campbell Bay National Park. 2. Challenge premised on violations of the Eco-Sensitive Zone Notification regarding Galathea National Park. 3. Challenge premised on violations of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 and its Rules, 2008. 4. Challenge premised on violations of the Coastal Zone Regulation Notification, 2019 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. 5. Challenge on various grounds of the Order of the National Green Tribunal dated February 16, 2026. The nation's ecological conscience is on trial," he elaborated.
Meanwhile, 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 transhipment ports while serving defence and national security objectives.
The project includes a 14.2 million twenty-foot equivalent unit (MTEU) International Container Transhipment 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.