New Delhi, 19 June (H.S.): Former Union Minister for Environment and Forests and Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh has once again written to Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav regarding the Great Nicobar Island Development Project. In his letter, Ramesh described Yadav's response, dated June 13, to his concerns over the project's environmental clearance and the lack of transparency in related processes as completely disappointing and unsatisfactory.

In the letter issued on Friday, Ramesh said that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of various components of the Great Nicobar Project is grossly inadequate and constitutes a blatant violation of the guiding principles laid down by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change itself. He alleged that the Union Minister had failed to provide any concrete or satisfactory response to the technical, legal, and scientific questions he had raised earlier. Instead, the government was merely repeating its previous arguments while attempting to divert attention from the core issues.

Ramesh pointed out that, under the applicable rules, half-yearly compliance reports relating to the project are required to be made public. However, no such report has been released since March 2024. He further alleged that the minutes of meetings of the Project Monitoring Committee are being uploaded to the official website several months after the meetings are held, raising serious questions about the transparency of the entire process.

He further stated that under the environmental clearance granted on November 11, 2022, various conservation and mitigation plans were required to be submitted within 15 days. These crucial plans, prepared by premier institutions including the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), and the Andaman and Nicobar Forest Department, have still not been made available to the public.

Ramesh questioned why revised proposals for some of these plans were sought from the concerned institutions after recommendations had already been made by the Expert Appraisal Committee. He described it as highly unusual and suspicious that these revised plans were submitted after the committee had completed its evaluation, thereby raising serious doubts regarding their adequacy, authenticity, and credibility. He also alleged that the updated Environmental Management Plan, based on at least 12 studies conducted by reputed institutions, has been completely withheld from public scrutiny.

He further alleged that several critical and fundamental studies relating to the project are still pending, which, according to him, clearly demonstrates that environmental clearance was granted in undue haste, without adequate scientific preparedness, and under political pressure. Citing scientific evidence, Ramesh argued that mitigation measures such as the large-scale transplantation of coral reefs from the project area are entirely unrealistic and virtually impossible to implement on the ground.

The Congress leader also recalled that he had previously demanded the publication of the report prepared by the High-Powered Committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), alleging that the government was attempting to suppress it as well. He asserted that none of the reports, plans, or studies he has sought to be disclosed would compromise the project's claimed strategic or national security objectives. According to him, strategic concerns are now being used merely as a pretext to conceal the project's shortcomings and justify its implementation.

Notably, this is the third letter written by Ramesh to Union Minister Bhupender Yadav on the issue, with the Minister having responded to his previous communications as well.

In his first letter, dated May 10, Ramesh had raised serious concerns over the environmental clearance granted to the project, citing the Ministry's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document. Describing the approval as an insult to science and a mockery of the Environmental Impact Assessment process, he had alleged that the project was approved without the mandatory primary data covering three different seasons, as required under the rules.

Responding on May 27, Bhupender Yadav rejected the allegations. While acknowledging that the primary field data covered only one season, he argued that it had been supplemented with 17 years of satellite records and historical data from institutions such as the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Zoological Survey of India, and the Botanical Survey of India to conduct a comprehensive assessment. He had also cited National Green Tribunal orders to defend the legality of the process.

Subsequently, on June 3, Ramesh rebutted Yadav's response, arguing that historical records can never replace primary field data collected on-site. He further alleged that allowing the same government institutions that prepared the original reports to review them amounted to a violation of due process. He also questioned why the report of the High-Powered Committee, submitted to the NGT in October 2025, had been placed in a sealed cover and kept away from public scrutiny.

Ramesh had also described the project as a purely commercial venture. In response, on June 13, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav reiterated the government's position, stating that certain portions of the High-Powered Committee's report could not be disclosed under Section 8(1)(a) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act due to national security and strategic considerations. He maintained that stringent environmental safeguards were being implemented to protect sea turtles and indigenous tribal communities.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar