Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has defended the Rs 81,000 crore Great Nicobar Island project, describing it as a strategic national initiative aimed at safeguarding India’s maritime and commercial interests in the Indo-Pacific.
In a letter dated July 17, Singh responded for the first time to concerns raised by Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, who had written to him on May 16 and June 12 urging the government to reconsider the project. Ramesh had suggested expanding existing defence facilities, including INS Baaz at Campbell Bay, instead of proceeding with the mega project, which he called a "recipe for ecological disaster".
Singh said the project would strengthen India’s ability to sustain presence, move assets and monitor critical Sea Lanes of Communication. He said the project includes an integrated township, a trans-shipment container port, a solar and gas-based power plant, and a greenfield airport for military and civilian use. Land has also been earmarked for defence purposes near the port.
Rejecting Ramesh’s proposal to expand existing facilities, Singh said it reflected an "incomplete appreciation" of the project and maritime security requirements in the Indo-Pacific. He said describing the project as merely a costly commercial venture overlooked the region’s strategic realities.
Singh said developing INS Baaz as a brownfield project had been examined but was found unsuitable because it would require significant land reclamation and disturb tribal populations, flora and fauna. He said the decision to develop a greenfield project at Galathea Bay was based on strategic, operational, environmental and social considerations.
The defence minister also rejected allegations that environmental and tribal concerns had been ignored, saying all statutory approvals were granted after detailed appraisal by expert bodies and included safeguards and mitigation measures.
Responding on July 25, Ramesh maintained that the project is "most fundamentally a commercial enterprise" and argued that a strategic rationale was being promoted to counter growing evidence of ecological damage. He cited retired naval officers who questioned the project's defence rationale and said claims that the Galathea Bay airport would have lower environmental and social costs than expanding INS Baaz were "demonstrably incorrect and logically contradictory".
Ramesh also reiterated that the project would require cutting two forested hills, destroying forests used by the Shompen tribal community, and affecting creeks and marine life, adding that these concerns remain unaddressed.