The clearance for the ₹92,000 crore infrastructure project was challenged in the Calcutta High Court for alleged violations of approval procedures and forest rights of local tribals. File
The Congress party on Saturday (April 4, 2026) targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government over a new draft plan to “resettlement” Nicobar families affected by the ₹92,000 crore Great Nicobar Island mega-infrastructure project, with party leader Jairam Ramesh saying, “A careless bulldozing of local communities.”
In a post on social media, referring to a report by The Hindu about the above plan which has caused confusion and anxiety among local residents, Congress MP and General Secretary in-charge of Communications, Mr. Ramesh, said that the Centre’s past claims that the project would not disturb or displace local tribals were “blatantly false”.
The Hindu reported on Saturday (April 4, 2026) that the district administration has prepared a draft relocation plan for project-affected local communities in Great Nicobar Island and is pushing for the finalization of the draft with the Centre’s lawyers telling the Calcutta High Court that it will “prove” tribal consent in 15 days.
The project, which received approval for Phase I in 2022, will include a transshipment terminal, an airport, a power plant and a town area.
Violation of rights
However, the project’s clearances were challenged in the Calcutta High Court for alleged violations of approval procedures and forest rights of local tribals.
Referring to the way the project is progressing, Mr Ramesh said on Saturday (April 4, 2026): “The bulldozer is moving regardless of the concerns of local communities. But there is a fundamental contradiction here: is the (Narendra) Modi government saying the Great Nicobar Clear project will not disturb or displace tribals?”
The details of the draft plan on where the relocation will take place and who will be relocated have caused confusion among community members in Great Nicobar who have been demanding a return to their forests on the west coast, from where they were driven out by the 2004 tsunami.
Published – 04 Apr 2026 22:37 IST
