Jairam Ramesh Questions Centre Over Credibility And Integrity On Great Nicobar Island Project
Congress senior leader Jairam Ramesh came down heavily on the Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav questioning him over the Great Nicobar Island infrastructure project. He alleged that the panel tasked to revisit environmental clearances to the project was “biased” and did not carry out any meaningful reassessment.
Jairam Ramesh further in his letter pointed out the Union Environment Ministry’s denial that any part of the Nicobar project area fell in coastal zones prohibited for construction was a “dramatic U-turn”.
Read also: Udhayanidhi Stalin Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister
The Congress leader expressed “grave concern” over the expression of interest being invited even as the National Green Tribunal deliberates on petition before it.
In his letter to Yada, Ramesh questioned the credibility, composition and conclusion of a high-powered committee (HPC) tasked to revisit the environmental clearances granted to the Great Nicobar Island infrastructure project.
“It is also a matter of grave concern that while the NGT deliberates on petitions before it, ANIIDCO has already invited expressions of interest that is a precursor for the clearing of around 65 square km of biodiversity-rich forests. I believe the Government of India is hell-bent on inflicting an ecological and humanitarian disaster on our country,” the former environment minister said.
Ramesh in his letter noted that he was shocked that the HPC did not associate with any independent institution or experts despite NGT allowing it that flexibility.
He said that the HPC had also diluted the NGT’s directives and did not carry out any meaningful and comprehensive reassessment of the project clearances and environmental issues. Ramesh had also questioned the ministry’s logic in keeping the HPC’s report secret.
News reports have emerged about the counter-affidavit filed by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change in the National Green Tribunal on the Great Nicobar Island Development Project. I have written yet again to the Honourable Minister on this ecological and… pic.twitter.com/AT3FLUk0GJ
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) September 29, 2024
“I don’t understand this: when the original process for grant of clearances itself was not classified as ‘privileged and confidential’, how can a review, howsoever flawed, and that too mandated by the court be classified thus?”, Ramesh said.
Read also: “Very Proud To Have Been A Friend Of His”: Rahul Gandhi Remembers Sitaram Yechury
He had expressed his concern over the Andaman and Nicobar Island administration on enumeration, logging, and felling of trees for the project. “…while the NGT deliberates on petitions before it, ANIIDCO (Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation Ltd.) has already invited expressions of interest that is a precursor for the clearing of around 65 sq kms of biodiversity-rich forests. I believe the Government of India is hell-bent on inflicting ecological and humanitarian disaster on our country,” he said.
