Nice Nicobar venture: Jairam Ramesh writes to Rajnath Singh, suggests defence alternate options | India Information
3 min learnNew DelhiCould 17, 2026 01:05 PM IST
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh sustained the occasion’s opposition to the Nice Nicobar Island (GNI) venture in its current kind and wrote to Union Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh Sunday, urging him to think about increasing current defence property on the island as alternate options.
In his letter, Ramesh challenged the federal government’s justification of the venture as one with “overriding safety issues”, when it was primarily a “business enterprise”. Whereas acknowledging that there could possibly be “no two opinions” on the necessity to strengthen the nation’s defences and the necessity to venture India’s strategic capabilities credibly, he argued that the GNI venture is a recipe for ecological catastrophe within the present form.
Itemizing out the present defence property starting from the Andaman and Nicobar Command to INS Baaz in Campbell Bay, INS Kardip, INS Kohassa, INS Utkrosh, INS Jarawa and the Automotive Nicobar Air Drive Station, Ramesh sought to make a case for increasing these property.
“INS Baaz positioned in Campbell Bay on the Nice Nicobar Island was commissioned in July 2012. However plans for no less than trebling the size of the present runway and making a naval jetty have been awaiting approval for nearly 5 years. These plans have far much less antagonistic environmental impacts as properly,” he stated.
He added, “Second, there are additionally property of the Andaman and Nicobar Command created a few years in the past that could possibly be expanded with far much less environmental prices. These embrace INS Kardip, INS Kohassa, INS Utkrosh, INS Jarawa & the Automotive Nicobar Air Drive Station.”
Ramesh urged the defence minister to “severely take into account the above alternate options” which, he added, have been proposed by distinguished naval officers themselves of their writings.
In regards to the transshipment port, which is touted because the centrepiece of the mega infrastructure, Ramesh stated it might not improve the nation’s navy functionality in any means. As a part of the Rs 81,000 crore (GNI venture the federal government has proposed to construct an built-in township, a transshipment container port, photo voltaic and gas-based energy plant, and a greenfield navy and civilian use airport.
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Sunday’s letter to Rajnath Singh marks the third in a sequence that the Congress normal secretary in command of communications has written to senior Union ministers in current weeks. On Could 10, he wrote to Surroundings Minister Bhupender Yadav, difficult what he described as false claims in a authorities FAQ doc launched on GNI venture on Could 1. Three days later, on Could 13, he wrote to the Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, alleging ‘flagrant violations’ of the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
