Jairam Ramesh Raises Non-Transparency Concerns Over Great Nicobar Project in Fresh Letter to Environment Minister

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has written to Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, once again raising concerns about the lack of transparency and inadequate environmental impact assessments (EIA) for the Great Nicobar Island project. In his letter dated June 19, 2026, Ramesh responded to Yadav's reply of June 13, calling it 'disappointing and unsatisfactory.'

Ramesh, a former Environment Minister, reiterated that the EIAs for various aspects of the project 'fall woefully short' of the guidelines set by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC). He noted that his earlier letters on the matter had received 'no worthwhile answer' from the Minister.

The Congress leader pointed out several instances of non-compliance with transparency requirements. He stated that six-monthly compliance reports mandated by the environmental clearance have not been made public since March 2024. Additionally, minutes of project monitoring committee meetings are uploaded months after they are held.

Ramesh highlighted that conservation and mitigation plans, required to be submitted within 15 days of clearance granted on November 11, 2022, are also not publicly available. These include plans from institutions such as the Wildlife Institute of India, Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology, Zoological Survey of India, Botanical Survey of India, National Institute of Oceanography, Indian Institute of Forest Management, and the Andaman and Nicobar Forest Department. Some of these institutions were asked to revise proposals after suggestions from the Environmental Appraisal Committee, but the revised plans too remain undisclosed.

Ramesh argued that the lack of public access to these plans raises doubts about their adequacy and reliability. He noted that the updated Environment Management Plan, based on existing and additional studies, is also unavailable. 'There are at least, as far as I have been able to make out, twelve such studies by different institutions. A number of studies are still pending, proving that the environmental clearance was granted prematurely and hastily,' Ramesh wrote. He described some mitigation plans, like the large-scale relocation of coral colonies, as 'clearly unrealistic and almost impossible.'

Ramesh also reiterated his demand that the report of the High-Powered Committee (HPC) set up by the National Green Tribunal be made public, along with the field survey of the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management on which the HPC based its conclusion regarding the Coastal Regulation Zone status of the proposed transshipment port.

In his letter, Ramesh stressed that his requests for transparency do not hinder the project's 'so-called strategic objectives.' He concluded, 'Serious questions on its environmental impact assessment and legitimate concerns on its grave ecological consequences remain unanswered and unaddressed by your sadly evasive replies.'