Jairam Ramesh flags inadequate EIA for Great Nicobar Project; demands public release of NGT-mandated HPC report

📌 Summary:

• Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh wrote to Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav demanding that the report of the NGT-mandated High-Powered Committee (HPC) — tasked with revisiting the Great Nicobar Project's environmental clearances — be made public.

• Ramesh alleged that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) conducted for the project fell short of legal requirements.

• Letter follows Union Government's detailed statement last week claiming the project's ecological impacts have been 'comprehensively identified and assessed' and are being managed through a detailed Environmental Management Plan.

• Ramesh contested this, urging the Minister to 'pause, reflect, and revisit the project in its present design and detail.'

• The HPC report and its discussions did not form part of the NGT record (based on petitioner Ashish Kothari's plea to not rely on them).

• Project background: Great Nicobar Holistic Development includes International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) at Galathea Bay, a greenfield international airport, a power plant and township — estimated ₹72,000 crore investment.

• Ecological concerns: Loss of ~130 sq km of tropical rainforest; threats to Galathea Bay (leatherback turtle nesting site), Nicobar megapode, saltwater crocodile, Nicobari tribes (Shompen — particularly vulnerable tribal group/PVTG); seismic risk (2004 tsunami zone).

• Strategic dimension: Government sees the project as critical for India's Indo-Pacific maritime presence and Bay of Bengal connectivity; opposition argues environmental and tribal-rights cost is too high.

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 — EIA process, environmental governance, balancing development with conservation, biodiversity hotspots; GS2 — Tribal rights (PVTG protection), legislative oversight, strategic infrastructure.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• Great Nicobar Project includes: ICTT at Galathea Bay, greenfield international airport, township, gas/solar power plant

• NGT — National Green Tribunal (est. 2010); HPC = High-Powered Committee

• Key endemic species: Leatherback sea turtle, Nicobar megapode, Saltwater crocodile

• Shompen tribe — PVTG; resides in Great Nicobar

• EIA Notification, 2006 governs environmental clearance process in India

🔑 Key Term: Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) — A statutory process under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (EIA Notification 2006) to evaluate likely environmental impacts of a project before clearance; includes scoping, public consultation, appraisal, and post-clearance monitoring.