Jairam Ramesh shared The Hindu Report on X, which quoted members of the Tribal Council of Little and Great Nicobar as saying that the district administration was pressuring them to “give up their ancestral land” for the project. File | Photo credit: THE HINDU
The Congress on Saturday (Jan 24, 2026) accused the Union government of pushing through the “ecologically disastrous” Great Nicobar infrastructure project despite legal challenges and widespread professional objections, saying the Narendra Modi-led dispensation remained “indifferent” to environmental and tribal interests.
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh shared a Hindu report on X, which quoted members of the Tribal Council of Little and Great Nicobar as saying that the district administration was pressuring them to “give up their ancestral land” for the project.
“Yet another example of the ecologically disastrous Great Nicobar project being bulldozed. Petitions are also pending in the Calcutta High Court and the National Green Tribunal. Professionals have expressed their concerns. But nothing is changing for the indifferent Modi government,” said Mr. Ramesh.
Reacting to allegations of pressure on tribal communities, the former environment minister said, “This is unacceptable and shows how the Great Nicobar project is being pushed through. It is an environmental disaster.”
He noted that he had repeatedly raised concerns in a series of letters to the Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
Congress Parliamentary Party president Sonia Gandhi also criticized the project in an op-ed in The Hindu, describing it as a “planned disaster” that poses an existential threat to indigenous communities and makes “a mockery of all legal and deliberative processes”.
However, the Union government defended the project, with Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav saying that all legal clearances were in place and that the initiative was vital for national development.
Published – 24 Jan 2026 21:18 IST
