New Delhi, May 10 (IANS) Days after the Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the Great Nicobar island, where he underlined the grave and serious implications of the project, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday penned a letter to the Union Minister for Environment and Forest Bhupendra Yadav and demanded that the project be shelved for protecting the island’s unique and distinct bio-diversity.
Jairam Ramesh, Congress MP and the party’s Communications in-charge, countered many arguments and justifications put forward by the Centre for the Great Nicobar Island development project and said that any ‘expeditious’ move will sound a death knell for the island’s ecology and biodiversity.
“This unique ecosystem will be destroyed by the Great Nicobar Island development project. I once again urge you to pause, reflect and revisit the project in the present design and detail,” he wrote in the four-page letter to the Union Minister.
He also said that the compensatory afforestation (tree plantations to offset deforestation) argument by the Ministry is completely bogus, an issue that was echoed by Rahul Gandhi during his visit to the Nicobar Islands last month. The LoP Rahul had described the Nicobar development project as one of the “gravest crimes” against its natural and tribal heritage, a remark he made after meeting some local community members.
Jairam Ramesh argued that several discoveries, in terms of shortcomings and gaps in island survey, are being made from time to time and also cited ‘assertions’ by some security experts to corroborate his argument that the ecological devastation of such scale wasn’t befitting for securing the country’s security and strategic interests.
Referring to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, undertaken as a precursor step, he said the survey wasn’t as intense as required, and the same has been documented in the government’s own report.
“An intensive survey was carried out on both sides of Campbell-Indira Point for four days. It is about 45 km, and the entire stretch was surveyed 8 times in four days. And, that it is a rapid reconnaissance type of survey and it was not intensive except in non-forest residential areas,” he stated.
The Congress MP further remarked that going by the EIA’s admission, the survey within the dense forests was feasible only to a limited extent and therefore the grounds on which environmental clearance was given remains grossly inadequate.
Jairam Ramesh also questioned the ‘confidentiality’ of the Environment ministry and High-powered committee (HPC) reports and questioned the logic behind this to keep them under wraps.
“When the EIA reports, detailed project reports, master plan for the township and even the DPR of the airport are in the public domain, what is the basis to contend that the HPC report is confidential?” he asked.
–IANS
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