Why Rahul Gandhi’s Nicobar go to sparked an enormous “harm management” face-off over India’s mega island challenge
3 min learnNew DelhiMight 3, 2026 08:16 PM IST
The Congress occasion on Sunday claimed that the Modi authorities was “rattled” by Rahul Gandhi’s go to to Nice Nicobar final week, and was in “harm management mode”. The occasion mentioned this in rebuttal to a prolonged fact-sheet issued by the Union authorities on the Nice Nicobar Island mega infrastructure challenge, after Rahul attacked the federal government over critical considerations relating to the challenge.
The detailed rebuttal, issued by Congress’ communications head Jairam Ramesh, centred on the island’s ecological considerations, tribal rights, and the challenge’s monetary and bodily feasibility and transparency. Ramesh mentioned the federal government press word didn’t tackle any of the intense considerations raised on the challenge by native affected communities, environmentalists, anthropologists, lecturers, civil society specialists and different professionals.
The previous Union setting minister additionally mentioned that India’s “reputable safety imperatives” shouldn’t be linked with “a so-called growth challenge” and that safety concerns wanted, on the very least, a debate in Parliamentary discussion board.
The Centre had issued a prolonged press launch on Might 1, days after Rahul’s go to on April 28. The Chief of Opposition within the Lok Sabha had referred to as the challenge “one of many greatest scams” and “gravest crimes” in opposition to pure and tribal heritage after assembly Nicobarese neighborhood leaders and settlers from the ex-servicemen neighborhood.
The Centre claimed within the press word that no tribal can be relocated whereas underlining the challenge’s strategic and defence functions.
Elevating ecological considerations, Ramesh additionally questioned the proposed transshipment port in Galathea Bay, a Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) 1A space web site the place ports usually are not allowed. “Galathea Bay is house to greater than 20,000 coral colonies…the seaside right here is crucial nesting web site of the Large Leatherback turtle within the Northern Indian Ocean…” he mentioned.
Calling the proposal to compensate lack of Nicobar forests in Haryana a “travesty” of ecological ideas, Ramesh underscored {that a} “tree minimize in Nicobar can merely not get replaced by two, 5 and even 10 bushes planted elsewhere”, particularly in Haryana’s semi-arid ecosystem.
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He additionally slammed the Centre for citing totally different numbers of bushes which can be to be minimize for the challenge.
“The variety of bushes to be minimize in accordance with the Might 2022 minutes of the skilled appraisal committee was 8.52 lakhs. In a press release in Parliament in August 2025, the Union Minister of Surroundings, Forests and Local weather Change claimed that the bushes to be minimize was 9.64 lakh. The most recent press launch places that quantity at 7.11 lakh. Which one is to be believed?”, he requested.
The Nicobarese tribe, the senior chief added, has expressed considerations a number of instances on the challenge’s influence on forest rights, and their lifestyle, and questioned whether or not the federal government obtained consent from the Shompen tribe, a largely uncontacted, significantly susceptible tribal group.
Pointing to a current authorities assembly of the Public Non-public Partnership Appraisal Committee on the port challenge, Ramesh claimed its monetary feasibility was flagged by the federal government itself.
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