Overview
- Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh issued a detailed rebuttal Sunday, urging a parliamentary debate after the government’s May 1 fact-sheet that followed Rahul Gandhi’s April 28 visit to Great Nicobar.
- Ramesh said the planned port at Galathea Bay sits in a top-protection coastal zone with more than 20,000 coral colonies and a key leatherback turtle nesting beach where port construction is not permitted.
- He argued tribal consent is flawed, noting Nicobarese leaders withdrew a 2022 no‑objection letter they say was obtained under pressure and questioning how informed consent was secured from the largely uncontacted Shompen community.
- He cited inconsistent tree-felling counts ranging from 7.11 lakh to 9.64 lakh and said crucial clearance documents, including Forest Advisory Committee, High-Powered Committee, and coastal zone reports, have not been made public.
- The government says the project strengthens India’s maritime position with safeguards for ecology and indigenous people, and the National Green Tribunal cleared it in February on strategic grounds, even as critics call airport and port projections unrealistic.