Ahmedabad Times

NEW DELHI: Congress chief Jairam Ramesh on Sunday wrote to defence minister Rajnath Singh opposing the Nice Nicobar Island Venture, calling it a “recipe for ecological catastrophe” and urging the federal government to think about various defence infrastructure proposals with decrease environmental prices.In his letter, Ramesh argued that whereas strengthening India’s strategic and navy capabilities was important, the Nice Nicobar venture in its present type was being justified on “overriding safety issues” regardless of being “primarily a business enterprise” that would severely injury the area’s fragile ecology and tribal rights.Sharing the letter on X, the Congress chief mentioned, “After writing to the Union minister of surroundings, forests, & local weather change and the Union minister of tribal affairs, I’ve written to the Raksha Mantri on the Nice Nicobar Island Venture.”Ramesh, a former surroundings minister, mentioned the federal government had issued a press observe titled ‘The Nice Nicobar Island Venture: FAQs’ on Could 1. He claimed the doc offered a “fully false image” of the environmental clearance course of and misrepresented compliance with provisions of the Forest Rights Act, 2006.“On Could 10, 2026, I had written to the Union minister of wnvironment, forests and local weather change on how these FAQs current a ‘fully false image’ on the venture’s environmental clearances which, in actuality, have been given on very doubtful grounds,” he mentioned.Referring to tribal rights issues, Ramesh mentioned he had additionally written to the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs on Could 13, alleging that the venture clearance course of “flagrantly violate, in letter and spirit, the person and collective rights given to tribal communities by Parliament.”In his letter to the defence minister, he mentioned, “Let me straightaway say that there may be no two opinions on the necessity to strengthen our nation’s defences. There can be no two opinions on the necessity to venture India’s strategic capabilities in a reputable method.”Nonetheless, he urged that India may strengthen its navy presence within the area via current amenities and infrastructure growth initiatives that may trigger comparatively much less environmental injury.Ramesh identified that INS Baaz in Campbell Bay, commissioned in 2012, had plans pending for almost 5 years to increase its runway and construct a naval jetty. He argued these proposals would have “far much less antagonistic environmental impacts”.He additionally referred to current property below the Andaman and Nicobar Command, together with INS Kardip, INS Kohassa, INS Utkrosh, INS Jarawa and the Automotive Nicobar Air Pressure Station, saying they might be expanded with considerably decrease ecological prices.Questioning the strategic justification of the bigger venture, Ramesh mentioned, “Third, the transshipment port and the township which might be a necessary a part of the Nice Nicobar Island Venture don’t improve our nation’s navy functionality in any manner. But, now that out of the blue has emerged as a significant justification for them.”“Lastly, I want to reiterate that the Nice Nicobar Island Venture in its current form and type is a recipe for ecological catastrophe,” he added.Jairam urged Singh to “critically contemplate the above options” which, he mentioned, had additionally been proposed by distinguished naval officers of their writings.