NEW DELHI: The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has declined to entertain a Right to Information (RTI) application seeking disclosure about the impact of the Great Nicobar Island mega infrastructure project on local tribes and the relocation of villages from a tiger reserve. The NCST cited parliamentary privileges and other legal exemptions as reasons for the refusal.
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has appointed a new ‘overarching committee’ to review its own recommendations regarding the environmental clearance given to the Andaman and Nicobar mega project. According to experts, the committee may undermine the integrity of the one established under the directives of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
On Monday, the MoEFCC-appointed high-powered committee (HPC) submitted a report in a sealed cover to the NGT’s six-member bench, led by Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava. The HPC was constituted in April 2023 following an NGT order to reassess the
environmental clearance granted for the mega project. Reports indicated that the environmental clearance had been issued hastily, neglecting crucial factors and violating regulations such as the Coastal Regulation Zone, the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, and the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
This mega project represents an `81,000 crore large-scale infrastructure initiative that entails the construction of a major transhipments port, an international airport, a township, and a power plant, which involve redirecting 130.75 sq km of forests and relocating villages. The project has faced backlash due to its potential environmental impact and concerns regarding the displacement of indigenous communities. Ashish Kothari, founder of Kalpavriksha, an environment action group, has challenged the environmental clearance in the NGT.
The report submitted to the NGT includes an annexure stating that MoEFCC has formed a new ‘overarching committee’ to implement the HPC’s recommendations and coordinate with various agencies for monitoring of wildlife conservation projects.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “This project is a recipe for ecological and humanitarian disaster. Why has the panel’s report been submitted in a sealed cover? Why this level of secrecy?” The overarching committee comprises MD of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation Limited (ANIIDCL), the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests for A&D, the Secretary of A&D Administration (Tribal Welfare), the Director of the Zoological Survey of India, the Director of the Botanical Survey of India, the Director of the Wildlife Institute of India, and the Executive Director of ANIIDCL, who serves as the member secretary.
Lawyers following the case have noted that the members of the overarching committee are the same as those in the NGT committee. Environmentalists have raised concerns that this overarching committee could compromise the NGT’s decisions. Further, the government has maintained a lack of transparency regarding this.
Major infra project
The Great Nicobar project represents an `81K cr large-scale infra initiative
The project entails construction of a transhipments port, an international airport, a township, and a power plant
130.75 sq km of forest will be affected and villages will be relocated
A committee was constituted by MoEFCC in April 2023 following an NGT order to reassess the environmental clearance granted for the mega project
MoEFCC has now appointed a new ‘overarching committee’ to review its own recommendations