NEW DELHI: Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has strongly criticised the Modi government over the Rs 72,000-crore 'Holistic Development of Great Nicobar' project, calling it a “planned misadventure” that threatens both the island’s fragile ecosystem and the survival of its indigenous tribes.
In an article published in The Hindu titled “The making of an ecological disaster in the Nicobar”, Gandhi accused the government of insensitively pushing the project through while bypassing constitutional, legal, and environmental safeguards.
"The collective conscience cannot, and must not, stay silent when the very survival of the Shompen and Nicobarese tribes is at stake," she wrote, urging citizens to oppose what she described as a "travesty of justice" and a "betrayal of national values."
Gandhi highlighted that the project would permanently displace the Nicobarese, whose ancestral villages fall within the proposed development zone. These communities were earlier forced to relocate after the 2004 tsunami and had hoped to return.
The Shompen, a particularly vulnerable tribal group, face an even greater existential threat, she said. “The project denotifies a significant part of the Shompen tribal reserve, destroys forest ecosystems where they live, and invites a massive influx of outsiders, isolating the tribe from its ancestral land.”
Despite policies that require prioritising tribal welfare in such cases, the government has proceeded without consulting the Shompen or the local Tribal Council, she alleged.
Ecologically, Gandhi warned that the project would lead to large-scale deforestation, estimating the loss of between 8.5 lakh to as many as 58 lakh trees. She criticised the government's plan for compensatory afforestation as an inadequate replacement for old-growth rainforests.
She also flagged potential threats to local wildlife, including the endangered Nicobar long-tailed macaque and sea turtles. “Biodiversity assessments have been flawed, with studies conducted in off-seasons and using unreliable methods,” she said.
Gandhi alleged that the government manipulated facts through a high-powered committee to bypass coastal regulation zone (CRZ) protections. “The report of this committee has not been made public,” she noted, calling for transparency and accountability.
She also expressed concern about the seismic risks of building massive infrastructure in an earthquake-prone zone, saying it could jeopardise not just the ecology but also lives and investments.
"The laws of the land are being mocked wholesale," Gandhi concluded. "Unconscionably, one of the country's most vulnerable groups may have to pay the ultimate price for it."
The Great Nicobar project, which includes a transhipment port, international airport, power plant, and township across 160 sq km, continues to face growing scrutiny from environmentalists, tribal rights activists, and now, senior political leaders.