rahul-gandhi-calls-great-nicobar-island-project-a-misadventure

Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday criticised the Great Nicobar Island Project, calling it a “misadventure” that tramples on tribal rights and undermines legal processes.

 

In a post on X, Gandhi shared an article by Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, which he said highlights the injustices inflicted on the Nicobar’s people and its fragile ecosystem.

 

“The Great Nicobar Island Project is a misadventure, trampling on tribal rights and making a mockery of legal and deliberative processes,” Rahul Gandhi wrote.

 

The Great Nicobar Island Project, a key government initiative, envisions a transhipment port, an international airport, a power plant, and a township. It has been billed as a major step towards holistic development and strategic positioning.

 

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In her editorial, Sonia Gandhi raised alarm that the project threatens “one of the world’s most unique flora and fauna ecosystems” while also being located in a zone highly prone to natural disasters. She argued that the Rs 72,000 crore plan poses “an existential danger” to the island’s indigenous communities.

 

According to Sonia Gandhi, the ancestral villages of the Nicobarese tribals lie within the project’s proposed land area. Many of these communities were forced to evacuate during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and the current plan, she said, risks permanently displacing them.

 

She further warned that the Shompen, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, face an even greater threat. While the Shompen policy notified by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs requires prioritising the tribe’s welfare and “integrity” in any large-scale development plan, she said the project instead denotifies large parts of the Shompen reserve, destroys their forest ecosystem, and paves the way for an influx of settlers and tourists.

 

Sonia Gandhi also alleged that constitutional and statutory bodies established to safeguard tribal rights have been bypassed in the decision-making process.