Jairam Ramesh Presses Centre Over Great Nicobar Project Clearances
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Article summary
Congress leader and former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has written to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, strongly criticising the environmental and forest clearances granted to the ₹72,000-crore Great Nicobar Island holistic development project. Ramesh contends that the project — which includes a transshipment port, an international airport, a township, and a power plant — is primarily a commercial enterprise being pushed through under the guise of strategic necessity, thereby endangering the island's unique and irreplaceable biodiversity. Great Nicobar Island is home to the Shompen and Nicobarese tribal communities, the Leatherback sea turtle nesting sites, the Nicobar Megapode, and vast stretches of tropical rainforest, all of which face severe disruption. The project has received clearances from the Forest Advisory Committee and the Expert Appraisal Committee despite objections from ecologists and civil society. For UPSC aspirants, this controversy encapsulates the tension between India's infrastructure ambitions and its environmental governance obligations under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 and the Forest Conservation Act.
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Sample questions — answers revealed after test
Q1. With reference to the Great Nicobar Island development project, which of the following statements is correct?
Q2. A large infrastructure project is proposed on an island that hosts a UNESCO-recognised biosphere reserve, a wildlife sanctuary, and the habitat of a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG). The project requires forest diversion of over 130 sq km. Which combination of statutory bodies must mandatorily appraise this project before environmental and forest clearances can be granted?
Q3. Consider the following statements regarding the environmental and tribal rights dimensions of the Great Nicobar Island development project: 1. Compensatory afforestation in ecologically dissimilar mainland regions can fully offset the biodiversity loss caused by diversion of tropical island rainforest, consistent with the 'net zero forest loss' doctrine. 2. The Shompen, a PVTG with a population of fewer than 500, are entitled to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, before their habitat can be diverted for infrastructure. 3. The precautionary principle in international environmental law holds that where scientific uncertainty exists about irreversible harm, the burden of proof lies with those proposing the development activity. 4. The EIA Notification, 2006 requires that Environmental Impact Assessments be conducted by an independent government agency, with no role for the project proponent in commissioning the study. Which of the statements given above are correct?