The Congress on Sunday raised detailed concerns over the proposed Great Nicobar Island development project, flagging issues related to ecology, tribal rights, transparency and security, and demanded that the matter be debated in Parliament.
The party also alleged that the Centre is in “damage control mode” following Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit to the island on April 28.
In a statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the government’s May 1 clarification on the project failed to address critical concerns raised by stakeholders, including local communities, environmentalists and independent experts.
“The Modi Government, clearly in damage control mode after the hugely impactful visit of the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, to Great Nicobar… issued a press note,” Ramesh said, adding that it did not respond to substantive issues flagged earlier.
The Centre has maintained that the project, centred around a transshipment port at Galathea Bay in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is a strategic initiative aimed at strengthening India’s presence in the Andaman Sea, while balancing development with environmental safeguards.
However, the Congress has questioned this claim, pointing to what it described as the ecological uniqueness of Great Nicobar. Ramesh said the government’s assertion that only 1.82 per cent of the island group’s land would be used is “misleading”, as it overlooks the region’s fragile biodiversity.
He highlighted that Galathea Bay, the proposed site for the port, is classified as a Coastal Regulation Zone area where such construction is typically restricted. According to data from the Zoological Survey of India, the bay hosts more than 20,000 coral colonies and serves as a key nesting site for the giant leatherback turtle.
The Congress also alleged conflicts of interest in the environmental clearance process, claiming that institutions involved in granting approvals were later assigned roles in biodiversity monitoring.
On tribal rights, Ramesh said the Nicobarese community had raised concerns over the project’s impact on their land and livelihoods. He cited instances where the community withdrew its no-objection certificate, alleging that consent was obtained without full disclosure of the project’s scope.
Also read: Great Nicobar tribal reserve to be cleared for road project
He also raised questions over the consent process involving the Shompen, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group living in isolation in the island’s forests. “It is not clear then how the project authorities have taken their informed consent,” he said.
The party further questioned projections linked to the project, including the proposed airport’s capacity to handle 10 million passengers annually, calling it unrealistic compared to current traffic levels in the region.
Ramesh also flagged transparency concerns, stating that key reports related to environmental clearances and regulatory approvals have not been made public.
On security aspects, he cited remarks by former Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash, who had argued that military preparedness in the Andaman and Nicobar Command should not be tied to large-scale commercial development projects.
“There is thus no need to link India’s legitimate security imperatives with the so-called ‘development project’… on which it is now trying to muzzle genuine debate,” Ramesh said.
He reiterated that the project, given its scale and implications, must be subjected to detailed scrutiny and discussion in Parliament.
The government has, however, maintained that the project integrates strategic, economic and ecological priorities, and is aligned with national interests.
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