Proposed Rs 72,000-cr 'Mega Infra Project' in Great Nicobar poses grave threat to tribals, should be reviewed: Congress
Congress on Monday demanded a thorough review of a proposed «mega infrastructure project» in Great Nicobar initiated at the «instance» of the Niti Aayog, claiming that it poses a grave threat to the island's tribal communities. Raising red flags over the proposed project, Congress general secretary and former Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh said all clearances given to the Rs 72,000-crore project should be suspended immediately and an impartial review of it conducted, including by the parliamentary committees concerned.
«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. The project, initiated in March 2021 at the instance of the NITI Aayog, shows numerous red flags,» Ramesh said in a statement, which he also posted on X.
«The Congress demands an immediate suspension of all clearances and conduct of a thorough impartial review of the proposed project, including by the parliamentary committees concerned,» he said.
He claimed that the environment, forests and climate change ministry has given an «in-principle» clearance for diverting 13,075 hectares of forest land.
«This area is about 15 per cent of the island's land mass and constitutes one of the country's largest forest diversions in a nationally and globally unique rainforest ecosystem,» the Congress leader said.
Compensatory afforestation for the loss of this unique rainforest ecosystem has been planned in the state of
