New Delhi, April 4 Congress leader Jairam Ramesh raised doubts about the government's claims that the Great Nicobar infrastructure project would not displace any local tribes, questioning the need for a draft "Comprehensive Tribal Welfare Plan" if tribal communities were indeed unaffected.
Citing a report, he said that the Andaman and Nicobar administration has prepared a draft plan to "relocate" Nicobarese families affected by the project.
"The bulldozer moves without regard for the concerns of the local communities," he said on X.
"But there is a fundamental contradiction here: the Modi Government claims that the Great Nicobar Infra project will not disturb or displace tribes -- then why a relocation plan? Clearly, the claim is false," Ramesh said in the post, while also sharing a news article on the report.
The report claims that a draft plan outlining the "relocation" of Nicobarese tribal communities affected by the Union government's Great Nicobar Island (GNI) mega-infrastructure project "to their ancestral lands" has created confusion and is exacerbating existing apprehensions among locals.
This draft – "Comprehensive Tribal Welfare Plan" – prepared by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration and circulated on March 13, 2026, for consultation with line departments and the Tribal Council of Great Nicobar, proposes a Rs 42.52-crore outlay over 24 months for the "relocation of Nicobarese tribal communities from tsunami-affected or project-impacted areas," the report claims.