Senior Congress chief Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday wrote to Atmosphere Minister Bhupender Yadav, announcing the Nice Nicobar Island Undertaking as at the moment conceived is “overwhelmingly a business endeavor” and the original biodiversity of the world is being endangered.
In his reaction to Yadav’s letter of Might 27 which was once a respond to his previous letter, Ramesh stated his letter on Might 10 was once a easy plea to conform, in letter and spirit, with the legislation in assessing the ecological affects of the Undertaking in a complete approach, for the reason that the environmental affect review (EIA) file of March 2022 itself had said that it is just a fast reconnaissance learn about.
“I’m so satisfied you have got admitted that the environmental clearance was once no longer in keeping with complete EIA research in keeping with 3 seasons number one knowledge and number one knowledge was once accumulated over just a ‘unmarried seasonal cycle’,” the previous atmosphere minister stated.
“However I need to, alternatively, indicate that the research discussed via you within the answer don’t seem to be even in keeping with number one knowledge accumulated over ‘unmarried seasonal cycle’ as claimed. The stories themselves admit that baseline knowledge/surveys for those stories had been accumulated handiest over a couple of weeks. I had extracted parts of those stories on your comfort,” Ramesh identified in his letter to Yadav.
“A considerable portion of your answer has been devoted to the declare that establishments beneath the Ministry of Atmosphere, Forests & Local weather Trade possess historic knowledge units which were used within the affect review stories ready via them,” the Congress common secretary in-charge communications stated.
The Congress chief stated Yadav would take note of the variation between number one knowledge accumulated on the assignment web page and its affect spaces and secondary knowledge accumulated from pre-existing research.
Secondary knowledge just isn’t an alternative to number one knowledge assortment and project-specific research, Ramesh identified.
“Your letter time and again mentions judgments of the Nationwide Inexperienced Tribunal (NGT) dated April 3, 2023 and February 16, 2026 based on the problems I’ve introduced in your consideration. I’ve learn those judgments moderately once more and need to tell you that: Within the judgment dated April 3, 2023, para 33 expressly data that there are ‘unanswered deficiencies’ within the environmental clearance issued to the assignment and proceeds to listing 3, together with the desire for a complete EIA and remanded the clearance for second look,” Ramesh stated.
Within the judgment dated February 16, 2026, para 46 data the submissions of the Ministry of Atmosphere, Forests & Local weather Trade at the erosion standing of Galathea Bay, the Congress chief stated.
The file of ISRO’s House Packages Centre has obviously marked stretches of the japanese flank of Galathea Bay in pink, indicating erosion, Ramesh identified.
“You’re going to recall that beneath the Island Coastal Zone Law, 2019, ports are prohibited in ‘top’ erosion stretches and complete EIA learn about is important in low and medium’ erosion stretches. Given the truth that ISRO’S file has marked erosion alongside Galathea Bay’s coastline, is it no longer prudent to habits complete EIA research over 3 seasons to account for seasonal differences?” Ramesh stated.
The judgment dated February 16, 2026 does no longer include any discovering at the adequacy of the information assortment and EIA research as claimed in Yadav’s answer, the Congress chief stated.
“It’s in point of fact strange or even remarkable that those that have ready the EIA file and different research and people who have had them ready have ended up reviewing their very own paintings and located it to be wonderful. It is a perversion of due procedure,” Ramesh alleged.
“The judgment of the NGT dated February 16, 2026 as additionally your answer has totally overlooked para 5 (D) of the Place of work Memorandum of the Ministry of Atmosphere and Forests dated November 3, 2009 that mandates ‘complete atmosphere affect review, together with bodily and mathematical modelling and flooring verification for all port initiatives in Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands’,” Ramesh stated.
The February 16 judgement as additionally your answer ignores annexure 6 of the EIA steering handbook for ports and harbours that were issued via the Ministry of Atmosphere and Forests and that states ‘bodily, chemical and organic knowledge needs to be accumulated in two to 3 seasons so to perceive their affect in numerous seasons like pre- and post-monsoon”, Ramesh stated.
Declaring that Yadav wrote that stipulations had been imposed to safeguard biodiversity, he stated those stipulations are in fact beside the point in figuring out whether or not good enough research and exams had been carried out previous to clearance.
Obviously, that has no longer been accomplished, he added.
“I’ve asked you to make public the file of the Prime-Powered Committee that was once inexplicably passed over in a ‘sealed quilt’ to the NGT in October 2025 Information resulting in the clearance for the assignment are within the public area,” Ramesh stated.
Each the grasp plan for the township, and the detailed assignment file for the airport also are within the public area, he stated.
Ramesh stated he merely fails to grasp why and the way the second look of the clearance procedure turns into confidential.
“I to find the narrative at the Nice Nicobar Island Undertaking has unexpectedly shifted. Confronted with incontrovertible proof of its vastly adversarial ecological affects, the Union Executive is now emphasizing its meant strategic rationale. I’ve written to Raksha Mantri one by one suggesting, as certainly some prominent defence mavens themselves have, that India’s strategic goals can be higher met via the growth of INS Baaz positioned in Campbell Bell on Nice Nicobar as smartly of different property of the Andaman and Nicobar Command throughout that archipelago,” Ramesh stated.
The Undertaking as at the moment conceived is overwhelmingly a business endeavor, he argued.
Ramesh and Yadav have exchanged a number of letters over the problem with the previous slamming the federal government over the assignment and claiming it will purpose nice ecological injury.
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