Hitting back at Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav for criticising the Congress for opposing the Great Nicobar infrastructure project, party leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said drawing the nation’s attention to an imminent “ecological and humanitarian disaster” is not “negative politics” but an expression of grave concern.
The minister is simply unable to answer basic questions that Congress has been repeatedly raising on the project, Ramesh said.
“The Union Minister of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav has accused the Indian National Congress of doing what he calls ‘negative politics’ on the Great Nicobar mega infrastructure project. Drawing the nation’s attention to an imminent ecological and humanitarian disaster is NOT ‘negative politics’. It is an expression of grave concern,” Ramesh said in a social media post. The minister is simply unable to answer basic questions that the INC has been repeatedly raising on the project, he said and asked whether the Great Nicobar Mega Infra Project, which requires the diversion of lakhs of trees, violate the National Forest Policy, 1988 which states that “tropical rain/moist forests, particularly in areas Andaman & Nicobar Islands should be totally safeguarded?”
He pointed out that the island harbours endangered species, including leathe-rback turtles, megapodes, saltwater crocodiles, and rich coral systems. Won’t this project drive these species closer to extinction, he asked.
Given the island’s history of severe subsidence during the 2004 tsunami and its location in a high-seismic zone, can the sustainability of this project be assured, he further asked.
Yadav last Thursday hit out at the Congress for opposing the Great Nicobar infrastructure project, accusing it of spreading confusion and indulging in “negative politics”.
Speaking at an event organised by The Public Affairs Forum of India here, Yadav asserted that the mega project is crucial for national security and strategic connectivity in the Indian Ocean Region.
Yadav said only 1.78 per cent of Great Nicobar’s forest area will be used for the project.
