The Congress on Monday demanded immediate suspension of all environmental clearances granted to the Greater Nicobar mega infrastructure project, pointing out that it was a threat to the tribal communities and natural ecosystem of the area.

Referring to the environment clearance given for diverting over 13,000 hectares of forest land, Congress media in-charge Jairam Ramesh — who is also a former environment minister — said this was equal to about 15 per cent of the island’s land mass and constitutes one of the country’s largest forest diversions in a nationally and globally unique rainforest ecosystem.

The Congress said the project was a direct threat to the well-being and survival of the Shompen — an indigenous community classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group and the Nicobarese (a Scheduled Tribe). This apart, the project is coming up in a seismic zone and the compensatory afforestation is being planned in Haryana, the Congress pointed out, calling for an impartial review of the project including by a parliamentary committee.

Constitutional Conduct — a collective of retired bureaucrats who take up issues of national importance — has called for setting aside the present Social Impact Assessment and demanded that a proper one be undertaken with the Anthropological Survey of India.

In a letter to the tribal affairs ministry, home ministry, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes and the director of Social Welfare of the islands, they have suggested that if such an assessment shows a significant adverse impact on the Tribal Reserve in Great Nicobar and its vulnerable tribal groups, then the government should be advised to abandon the project.

The development project consists of an international container transhipment terminal, a large greenfield international airport, a township and area development, and a solar and gas-based power plant. The airport area covers 8.88sqkm of deemed forest, which is part of the Tribal Reserve area in Great Nicobar. “This would certainly affect the Shompen and the Great Nicobarese. Yet the SIA has not taken the trouble to communicate with them,’’ the retired bureaucrats have underscored.

The retired bureaucrats also pointed out that the Tribal Council in their letter dated November 22, 2022, had withdrawn their consent from the NOC for the diversion of forest citing suppression of information, thereby making the Stage-I Forest Clearance granted to the project null and void.

“A petition was filed against this before the National Green Tribunal in Kolkata, who in their order dated 3rd April, 2023, had directed the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change to constitute a High Powered Committee to revisit the deficiencies of the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment). The committee was asked to submit a report until which the NGT had placed a temporary stay on the project. We are unaware if the High Powered Committee submitted its report and what was mentioned regarding the violations pointed out by the NGT.’’