Jairam Ramesh calls for review of Great Nicobar Island project by Parliamentary panels

NEW DELHI: Asserting that the mega infra project in Great Nicobar Island is a "grave threat" to the natural ecosystem, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has urged Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav to suspend all clearances accorded to the project and called for its thorough and impartial review, including by the parliamentary committees concerned.

In a letter to Yadav, former environment minister Ramesh said the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change must fulfil its dharma, and not allow itself to be reduced to becoming a project proponent, especially when the project has decidedly "disastrous" human, social and ecological consequences.

"You may recall our recent exchange in the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour. The Union Government's proposed Rs. 72,000 crore 'Mega Infra Project' in Great Nicobar Island is a grave threat to Great Nicobar Island's tribal communities and natural ecosystem," Ramesh said.

The project can have "catastrophic ecological and human consequences" and has been pushed through by violating due process and sidestepping legal and constitutional provisions protecting Tribal communities, he claimed.

"First, the project will require the diversion of 13,075 hectares of forest land 15% of the island's area, and a nationally and globally unique rainforest ecosystem," he said.

Compensatory afforestation, which is no substitute whatsoever for the loss of natural biodiversity-rich forests, is being planned thousands of kilometres away and in a vastly different ecology, Ramesh said.

"Parts of the project site reportedly come under CRZ 1A (areas with turtle nesting sites, mangroves, coral reefs), as had been noted in an National Green Tribunal (NGT) order in response to petitions challenging the clearances. Port construction is prohibited in this zone," he said in his letter dated August 10.

However, recently, a High-Powered Committee (HPC) set up by the NGT has concluded that the port does not fall in CRZ- 1A, but in CRZ-1B where port construction is allowed, Ramesh pointed out.

"The HPC's conclusions are at variance with the information submitted by the Andaman and Nicobar Coastal Management Authority. The HPC's operations have been opaque - details of its ground-truthing activities and its report has not been made public, and the new information that would have justified the recategorisation of the land has not been provided to stakeholders," he argued.

The project can potentially result in the genocide of the Shompen, an indigenous community classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), he claimed.

"The project has been rammed through in violation of all legal and policy safeguards for the protection of tribal groups," Ramesh alleged.

"The Tribal Council of the Islands was not adequately consulted, as is legally required. The Tribal Council of Great Nicobar Island has in fact expressed objections to the Project, claiming that the authorities had earlier 'rushed them' into signing a 'No Objection' letter based on misleading information - and that the No Objection letter has since been revoked," he said.

The Island's Shompen Policy, notified by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs, which requires authorities to prioritise the tribe's welfare when considering "large scale development proposals" was neglected, he claimed.

Consultations with the Scheduled Tribes Commission, legally mandated by Article 338(9) of the Indian Constitution, appear to have been skipped, the Congress leader alleged.

The 'Social Impact Assessment' conducted as part of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (RFCTLARR) ignored the existence of the Shompen and the Nicobarese, he said.

"The Project violates the letter and spirit of the Forest Rights Act (2006), which holds the Shompen as the sole legally empowered authority to protect, preserve, regulate and manage the tribal reserve," Ramesh alleged.

He further said the coastline where the port and the project is proposed to come up is an earthquake prone zone, and saw a permanent subsidence of about 15 feet during the tsunami of December 2004.

Locating such a massive project here deliberately jeopardises investment, infrastructure, people, and the ecology, he said.

"Given these numerous violations of due processes, all clearances accorded to this short-sighted project must be suspended. The proposed project should be reviewed thoroughly and impartially, including by the Parliamentary committees concerned," Ramesh said in his letter to Yadav.