New Delhi, Aug 28 (PTI) Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday hit back at the Environment Ministry's assertion that clearances for the Great Nicobar Island project were granted after careful consideration, saying the Environmental Impact Assessment study for it appears to have been primed to ensure its clearance in the form proposed by the NITI Aayog.
In a 10-page letter to Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, Ramesh said even if one were to accept the strategic and defence importance of the project, it would not preclude any discussion of its impact on the island's tribal communities and natural ecosystem.
"Nobody can be against 'strategic considerations' but surely a better balance between them and ecological concerns can and must be struck which is certainly missing in this case," he said in his latest communication to Yadav which came in continuation of a series of letter exchanges between the two.
In response to a letter from Ramesh on August 10, Yadav, on August 21, had said the environmental and forest clearances granted by his ministry have "withstood judicial scrutiny".
The project, being implemented by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO), includes a transhipment port, an airport, a power plant and a greenfield township over an area of more than 160 square km.
The minister had said the project is of national, defence and strategic importance, and that it would be "incorrect" to claim it poses a "grave threat to Great Nicobar Island's tribal communities and natural ecosystem".
In his letter to Yadav on Tuesday, Ramesh said the ministry notes that the project has been approved after a Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study but an examination of the EIA raises various red flags.
The EIA appears to have been primed to ensure clearance of the project in the form proposed by the NITI Aayog, the former environment minister said.
He said the ministry also defends the projects by citing the preparation of an Environmental Management Plan (EMP).
However, it must be noted that the Final EIA report that was submitted to the EAC-Infra I committee was devoid of any sound mitigation measures or a robust EMP, Ramesh said in his 22-point rebuttal of the ministry's assertions.
"The Ministry notes that the Environmental Clearance (EC) accorded to the project comprises 42 specific conditions dealing with each aspect of the project. So far, the implementation of these conditions does not inspire much confidence," he said.
"The Ministry has argued that the Environmental and Forest Clearances granted have withstood judicial scrutiny by the National Green Tribunal. However, this is an incomplete truth - the NGT order did find a need to formulate a High-Powered Committee (HPC) to evaluate the Environmental and CRZ Clearances granted to the project and placed a temporary stay on any irreversible activities pertaining to the project," Ramesh said.
"With regards to the Shompen community, the Ministry notes that 'the only habitation of Shompens or Nicobarese in the project area is at New Chingen, Rajiv Nagar and the Administration is not proposing displacement of any tribal habitations'. However, the Shompen are a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), and direct displacement of the community is not the only threat to its existence," Ramesh pointed out.
The project will require a large-scale influx of people and tourists, and the Shompen tribe may be ill-equipped to navigate this social contact, he said.
Ramesh said the ministry further argues that the public consultation for the project was duly conducted, that the island's tribal communities were represented at the public hearing through the Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti (AAJVS) and the Chairman, Tribal Council (Great Nicobar & Little Nicobar Island), and that "no objections" were raised.
However, it fails to mention that the chairman had very clearly said that they wish to return to their ancestral villages - the project will preclude such a possibility, he pointed out.
The last argument given by the ministry points to a study that claims that a mega-earthquake of the scale which occurred in 2004 is likely to occur only after 420-750 years, Ramesh said.
"The same 2019 study has been cited by the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report to downplay the seismic risks on Great Nicobar Island. However, the aforementioned study uses a methodology highly limited in its scope and appears to focus on tsunami risk alone," the Congress leader said in his letter.
The EIA also conveniently ignores other studies that independently conclude that the region of Great Nicobar and Sumatra is extremely likely (90% likelihood) to experience high magnitude earthquake within 20-25 years, Ramesh argued.
"Great Nicobar lies in one of the world's most earthquake prone regions, and given strength and location, these earthquakes can irreparably damage these infra projects," he said.
"I hope the comments I have offered will be seen by you as a constructive contribution to the debate on a project which has far-reaching environmental and humanitarian consequences," Ramesh concluded.
In his August 10 letter to Yadav, the Congress leader had asserted that the mega infra project in Great Nicobar Island is a "grave threat" to the natural ecosystem.
He had urged Environment Minister Yadav to suspend all clearances accorded to the project and called for its thorough and impartial review, including by the parliamentary committees concerned.