New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh on Sunday urged Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav to pause, reflect and revisit the Great Nicobar project in its present form, while demanding that the report of the National Green Tribunal-mandated high-powered committee be made public.
In a letter to Yadav, the Congress leader alleged that the environmental impact assessment carried out for the project fell short of legal requirements and relied on inadequate studies. He said the project’s ecological impact had been described by the government as comprehensively assessed, but claimed the available reports did not support that position.
Ramesh said the final EIA report submitted in March 2022 was based on a single winter-season study conducted between December 2020 and February 2021. He pointed out that the primary ecology and biodiversity survey was carried out in just nine days, while the survey of leatherback turtles lasted only seven days.
The former environment minister also renewed his demand that the report of the high-powered committee, which revisited the project’s environmental clearances, be made public. He said it was unclear why the report should remain confidential when the environmental clearance appraisal process, EIA reports, township master plan and airport project report were already in the public domain.
“In the interests of good governance and informed public debate, please make the HPC report public,” Ramesh urged, adding that the project should be paused and reconsidered in its current design and detail.
The NGT’s order in February, which declined to interfere with the project’s clearances, was based on the conclusions of the committee’s report. However, the report itself and the committee’s discussions were not part of the tribunal record.