Great Nicobar Project: A Secretive Ecological Gamble?

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh criticizes the Great Nicobar mega infrastructure project, deeming it an ecological and humanitarian disaster. The project's environmental clearance report was submitted to the National Green Tribunal in a sealed cover, raising concerns about transparency and oversight.

The Great Nicobar mega infrastructure project has ignited controversy, with Congress leader Jairam Ramesh labeling it an ecological disaster. On Tuesday, he questioned why the environmental clearance report was submitted in a sealed cover to the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

Ramesh, a former environment minister, shared a media report detailing the submission of the confidential report by the Union environment ministry. The report from a high-powered committee seeks to revisit the project's environmental clearance.

Ramesh warned of potential ecological risks, emphasizing that the project's design could lead to a humanitarian and ecological catastrophe. He also criticized the project's environmental impact study for downplaying significant earthquake risks, a concern magnified since the 2004 tsunami.

(With inputs from agencies.)