Great Nicobar project faces fresh legal challenge as Ramesh questions Centre's SC move

New Delhi, Sep 30 (UNI) Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh has accused the Narendra Modi government of attempting to stall judicial scrutiny of the Rs 92,000-crore Great Nicobar Island Project by seeking a stay from the Supreme Court on proceedings pending before the Calcutta High Court.

In a post on X, Ramesh said the project, whose estimated cost has been revised upwards from Rs 72,000 crore, was being "bulldozed" by the government despite what he alleged were serious shortcomings in environmental and forest clearances and the impact assessment process. "The Modi Govt has been bulldozing through the Rs 92,000 crore (revised upward from the earlier Rs 72,000 crore) Great Nicobar Island Project," Ramesh said.

He alleged that "the various approvals under environment and forest laws have been deeply flawed and the impact assessment reports have been pre-fixed and are of dubious value." Ramesh said five petitions filed by citizens and civil society groups were pending before the Calcutta High Court and described the proceedings as "one faint glimmer of hope" for judicial scrutiny of the project.

One of the petitions, he said, raises alleged violations of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, with implications for the rights and interests of local tribal communities. Ramesh said the Calcutta High Court had scheduled the final hearing of the petitions for November 25 and 26, 2026, and that the union government had agreed to the schedule. "Now in an astonishing U-turn the Modi Govt wants the Supreme Court to stay all proceedings in the Calcutta High Court," Ramesh said, adding that the matter was likely to come up before the Supreme Court on October 5.

Ramesh also highlighted the legal standing of a petitioner in one of the cases, saying she was a former senior official of both the union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the union Ministry of Tribal Affairs. According to him, the Centre had earlier questioned her right to challenge the project before the Calcutta High Court, but the High Court rejected the objection and upheld her right to file the petition.

"The Modi Govt is making the same argument in the Supreme Court," Ramesh said, expressing the hope that the apex court would allow the Calcutta High Court to proceed with the matter according to its scheduled hearing. The Great Nicobar Island Project envisages major infrastructure development on the strategically located island, including an international container transshipment terminal, an airport, a power plant and a new township.

The project has been the subject of environmental and legal scrutiny over its potential impact on the island's forests, biodiversity and indigenous communities. Ramesh alleged that the government was continuing to advance the project despite the pending litigation.

"The sad fact remains that even though these five petitions are pending in the Calcutta High Court the Modi Govt is mindlessly going ahead with inflicting this ecological disaster on our country," he said. The Centre's plea before the Supreme Court, along with the pending proceedings in the Calcutta High Court, is set to add a fresh legal dimension to the continuing debate over the environmental clearances, forest diversion and tribal-rights implications of the ambitious Great Nicobar infrastructure project.

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