Jairam Ramesh slams Centre for 'bulldozing' Great Nicobar project

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh accused the Centre of 'bulldozing' the Rs 92,000-crore Great Nicobar Island project. He alleged approvals were flawed and questioned the govt's move to seek a Supreme Court stay on Calcutta HC proceedings.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday accused the Centre of “bulldozing through” the Rs 92,000-crore Great Nicobar Island project and questioned its move to seek a stay from the Supreme Court on proceedings pending before the Calcutta High Court.

In a post on X, Ramesh alleged that environmental and forest-related approvals for the project were “deeply flawed” and claimed that the impact assessment reports were of “dubious value”. “The Modi Govt has been bulldozing through the Rs 92,000 crore (revised upward from the earlier Rs72,000 crore) Great Nicobar Island Project. The various approvals under environment and forest laws have been deeply flawed and the impact assessment reports have been pre-fixed and are of dubious value,” Ramesh said.

Legal Challenge in High Court

He said five petitions filed by citizens and civil society groups were pending before the Calcutta High Court, including one concerning alleged violations of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, affecting local tribal communities. “One faint glimmer of hope is provided by the 5 different petitions filed by public-spirited citizens and civil society groups that are pending in the Calcutta High Court. One of these petitions concerns serious violations of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 which affects the local tribal communities. The final hearing is fixed for Nov 25 and 26, 2026 to which the Modi Govt had agreed,” He said.

Ramesh said the final hearing in the matter was scheduled for November 25 and 26, 2026, and alleged that the Centre, despite agreeing to the hearing, was now seeking intervention from the Supreme Court to stay the proceedings. “But now in an astonishing U-turn the Modi Govt wants the Supreme Court to stay all proceedings in the Calcutta High Court. Oct 5, 2026 is the likely date on which this plea will be heard in the Supreme Court,” he said, adding that the plea was likely to be heard by the Supreme Court on October 5.

Court Upholds Petitioner's Right to Challenge

He further claimed that the Calcutta High Court had upheld the right of a petitioner, who he said was a former senior official in the Union ministries of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and Tribal Affairs, to challenge the project. “The Calcutta High Court had upheld the right of the petitioner, who has been a very senior official in both the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs, to file her challenge. Her right to challenge had been questioned by the Modi Govt, but that had been rejected by the Calcutta High Court. Now the Modi Govt is making the same argument in the Supreme Court which hopefully will allow the Calcutta High Court to proceed on the matter as scheduled,” he said.

Ramesh also alleged that the Centre was continuing with the project despite the petitions pending before the High Court. “The sad fact remains that even though these five petitions are pending in the Calcutta High Court the Modi Govt is mindlessly going ahead with inflicting this ecological disaster on our country,” he said.

Government's Stance on the Project

Meanwhile, the government has described the project as a strategic and economic initiative aimed at leveraging Great Nicobar's proximity to the East-West international shipping route and reducing India's dependence on foreign transshipment ports. The project includes a 14.2 million TEU International Container Transshipment 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. (ANI)

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