Great Nicobar Project: No ‘meaningful and comprehensive’ reassessment done, says Congress
No independent members were included in the committee that looked into clearances granted to the project, said Jairam Ramesh.
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The Congress on Saturday criticised the Union government for not including an independent member in the high-powered committee to review the Great Nicobar Island Development Project. The Opposition party also alleged that the committee had not carried out any “meaningful and comprehensive” reassessment of the project.
The Great Nicobar project involves the construction of a Rs 35,000-crore trans-shipment port, an international airport, a power plant, a township and tourism infrastructure spread over more than 160 square kilometers of land.
In 2023, the National Green Tribunal constituted a high-powered committee to revisit the environmental clearance granted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to the project.
On Saturday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, in a letter to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, said he was “shocked” that the committee did not have any independent institution or expert.
He pointed out that it comprised of the “NITI Aayog that conceived the project, the project proponent Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation, a representative of the Ministry of Environment’s Expert Appraisal Committee that recommended the clearances in the first place and Ministry of Environment that granted the clearances”.
“Need I say anything more on the credibility and integrity of the high-powered committee?” asked Ramesh.
The former environment minister alleged...
