NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday wrote to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, alleging that the Great Nicobar Island Project, in its current form, is “overwhelmingly a commercial enterprise” and poses a serious threat to the island’s unique biodiversity.
Responding to Yadav’s letter of May 27, which itself replied to an earlier communication from him, Ramesh said his letter dated May 10 had merely sought compliance with environmental laws and a comprehensive assessment of the project’s ecological impacts. He noted that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report submitted in March 2022 had described itself as a rapid reconnaissance study.
“I am glad that you have acknowledged that the environmental clearance was not based on comprehensive EIA studies covering three seasons and that primary data were collected over only a single seasonal cycle,” the former environment minister wrote.
However, Ramesh argued that even the studies cited by Yadav were not based on data collected over a complete seasonal cycle. According to him, the reports themselves state that baseline surveys were conducted over only a few weeks.
He also rejected the ministry’s reliance on historical datasets maintained by institutions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, arguing that secondary data cannot substitute for project-specific primary data collected at the site and in the affected areas.
Referring to National Green Tribunal (NGT) judgments cited by Yadav, Ramesh said the ruling of April 3, 2023 had explicitly recorded “unanswered deficiencies” in the environmental clearance and had called for a comprehensive EIA while remanding the clearance for re-examination.
He further pointed to an ISRO Space Applications Centre report cited during NGT proceedings, which identified erosion along sections of the eastern flank of Galathea Bay.
“You will recall that under the Island Coastal Zone Regulation, 2019, ports are prohibited in areas experiencing high erosion, while comprehensive EIA studies are required even in low- and medium-erosion zones. Given ISRO’s findings, would it not be prudent to undertake detailed EIA studies over three seasons to account for seasonal variations?” he asked.
Ramesh maintained that the NGT’s judgment of February 16, 2026 did not make any finding on the adequacy of data collection or environmental studies, contrary to the interpretation presented by the government.
Calling the review process flawed, he alleged that the agencies responsible for preparing the environmental studies had effectively been allowed to assess their own work.
“It is extraordinary, and even unprecedented, that those who prepared the EIA report and related studies, and those who commissioned them, have ended up reviewing their own work and declaring it satisfactory. This is a perversion of due process,” he said.
The Congress leader also argued that both the NGT judgment and the government’s response had overlooked a 2009 Office Memorandum mandating comprehensive environmental impact assessments, including physical and mathematical modelling and ground verification, for all port projects in the Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands.
Similarly, he said they had ignored provisions in the EIA guidance manual for ports and harbours, which require physical, chemical and biological data to be collected over two to three seasons to assess seasonal impacts.
While Yadav had highlighted safeguards imposed to protect biodiversity, Ramesh contended that such conditions were irrelevant if the underlying environmental studies themselves were inadequate.
He also renewed his demand for the release of a High-Powered Committee report that was submitted to the NGT in a sealed cover in October 2025.
“Records relating to the project’s clearance are already in the public domain. The township master plan and the airport’s detailed project report are also publicly available. I fail to understand why the re-examination of the clearance process should remain confidential,” he said.
Ramesh further claimed that the government’s defence of the project had shifted from environmental considerations to strategic arguments.
He said he had separately written to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, suggesting that India’s strategic objectives could be better served by expanding facilities such as INS Baaz at Campbell Bay and strengthening other assets of the Andaman and Nicobar Command.
“The project, as presently conceived, is overwhelmingly a commercial enterprise,” he said.
Ramesh and Yadav have exchanged several letters on the issue, with the Congress leader repeatedly arguing that the proposed project could cause significant ecological damage to the island ecosystem.
(With inputs from PTI)