Great Nicobar project 'commercial enterprise', not strategic: Jairam Ramesh to Rajnath Singh

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Saturday rejected Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's assertion that the Great Nicobar Islands (GNI) project is a strategically significant national initiative, contending that it is fundamentally a commercial enterprise.

In a letter written to Singh, Ramesh said the project's strategic rationale was being "invented" and "propagated to build a counter-narrative" against the evidence that the mega project would permanently destroy a unique ecosystem of extraordinarily rich biodiversity.

The letter is in response to Singh's June 17 reply to Ramesh's two earlier communications on the project.


The Rs 81,000-crore infrastructure initiative, spread over 166 sq km, comprises the construction of a transhipment port, an integrated township, a civil and a greenfield military airport, and a 450-MVA gas and solar power-based plant.

In his latest letter, Ramesh argued that the transhipment port at Galathea Bay accounts for half the project's budget and is, by definition, a "commercial enterprise".

He also said that the proposed dual-purpose airport -- the only component with a defence focus -- requires just 5 per cent of the total land sought for the project.

"Only 10 per cent of the budget for the project appears to be for the airport. Therefore, to say that the entire Great Nicobar Island project has strategic importance is clearly an exaggeration," Ramesh added.

He further claimed that the recently released Draft Master Plan for the Great Nicobar Development Area, 2047, includes a cruise tourism terminal, casinos, discotheques, and theme parks, making it appear "like an ambitious real estate project".

Reiterating that expanding the existing INS Baaz at Campbell Bay would carry lower environmental and social costs, Ramesh listed seven concerns regarding building the greenfield airport at Galathea Bay.

These include felling two forest-covered hills, destruction of Shompen tribal land, and impacts on international bird flyways.

"These (concerns) have not been refuted by you (Singh). In addition, there is no evidence that seismic and tsunami risks have been realistically considered and factored in," the Congress leader said.

In his July 17 letter, Singh had said that the possibility of developing INS Baaz as a brownfield project was examined, but was not considered suitable as "it would have entailed substantial land reclamation and disturbance to the tribal population, flora and fauna".

Therefore, the decision to pursue a greenfield project at Galathea Bay was a considered decision based on strategic, operational, environmental, and social factors, he added.