New Delhi, February 17 The National Green Tribunal's approval of the Great Nicobar project is disappointing and unfortunate, and may have disastrous ecological impacts, according to environmental enthusiasts.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday cleared the proposed International Container Transhipment Terminal on the Great Nicobar Island, stating that adequate safeguards had been provided in the environmental clearance (EC) conditions.
The eastern zonal bench of Kolkata, headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, passed the order on Monday while hearing objections to the proposed terminal, township, area development, and a 450 MVA gas and solar-based power plant.
Congress MP and former environment minister Jairam Ramesh, who has been vocal against the project, termed the decision "disappointing".
"The decision of the National Green Tribunal to approve the Great Nicobar project is deeply disappointing. There is clear evidence that the project will have disastrous ecological impacts," Ramesh said in a post on X.
"The conditions for its clearance, which the NGT refers to, will do little to address the long-term consequences. However, the matter is still being argued in the Calcutta High Court, which is the only source of hope now," he added.
Debi Goenka, executive trustee at Conservation Action Trust, a Mumbai-based non-profit organization, termed the NGT approval "unfortunate."
Conservation Action Trust is one of the entities challenging the project in court.
"The decision is unfortunate. Our appeal against an earlier NGT ruling is pending in the Calcutta High Court. We are hopeful that it will be taken up expeditiously," Goenka said.
Former Rajya Sabha MP and bureaucrat Jawahar Sircar said, "This is unbelievable, unacceptable!"
"The National Green Tribunal is clearing the destruction of irreplaceable flora and fauna of Great Nicobar for a port (surely to be bagged by a crony to profit), and a naval outpost! An entire tribe will be wiped out, and the project will endanger a very ecologically fragile zone," he said on X.
Seventy scholars, former bureaucrats, activists, lawyers, and environmentalists had previously written an open letter responding to Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav's defense of the proposed Rs 92,000 crore Great Nicobar Island mega infrastructure project, urging the minister to "set aside political considerations" and focus on the project's "grave and irreversible negative implications."
The signatories included historian Ramachandra Guha, wildlife conservationist Romulus Whitaker, wildlife biologist Ravi Chellam, nature conservationist Asad Rahmani, scientist Sharachchandra Lele, and former Gujarat principal chief conservator of forests Ashok Kumar Sharma, among others.
Earlier, a batch of petitions challenged the clearances granted for the project, claiming violations of the Island Coastal Regulation Zone (ICRZ) notification.
This was the second round of litigation concerning the project.
In April 2023, the tribunal largely upheld the EC while constituting a high-powered committee (HPC) to examine specific concerns.
"We find that adequate safeguards have been provided in the EC conditions, and in the first round of litigation, the tribunal refused to interfere in the EC. The remaining issues noted by the tribunal in the first round of litigation have been dealt with by the HPC, and considering the strategic importance of the project and taking into account the other relevant considerations, we do not find any good ground to interfere," the tribunal said.
The tribunal also noted that the shoreline of the island will be protected, ensuring no loss of sandy beaches, as these provide nesting sites for turtles and birds, apart from protecting the island.