Mon Jan 06 01:28:06 UTC 2025: ## Congress Condemns Great Nicobar Island Project as Ecological Disaster
**New Delhi, January 6, 2025** – The Congress party has strongly criticized a ₹72,000-crore infrastructure project on Great Nicobar Island, calling it an “ecological and humanitarian disaster.” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh accused the Modi government of pushing ahead with the project despite numerous past objections.
The project, encompassing an international container transshipment port, airport, power plant, and a large township, is slated to destroy an estimated 33,000 acres of pristine rainforest, according to Ramesh. He further revealed proposed expansions including a cruise terminal, shipbuilding facility, and an additional export-import port, which would lead to the destruction of another 100 acres of biodiversity-rich forest.
Ramesh, a former Union Environment Minister, highlighted the project’s environmental impact and questioned the transparency of the awarding of port contracts. He called for an immediate halt to the project and the establishment of an independent review panel to assess its implications. He accused Prime Minister Modi of hypocrisy, contrasting the project with the Prime Minister’s public commitment to environmental protection. The Congress leader’s statement follows his previous public exchanges with the Union Minister of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change on this issue.
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