Cong doing 'negative politics' over Great Nicobar project: Environment minister

New Delhi, Sep 18 (PTI) Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Thursday hit out at the Congress for opposing the Great Nicobar infrastructure project, accusing it of spreading confusion and indulging in "negative politics".

Speaking at an event organized by The Public Affairs Forum of India here, Yadav asserted that the mega project is crucial for national security and strategic connectivity in the Indian Ocean Region.

Yadav said only 1.78 per cent of Great Nicobar's forest area will be used for the project.

"Does the country not even have the right to use this much land for its security, transport capacity and modern technology? Questioning every institution, raising doubts over every developmental effort and writing columns when it comes to national security is nothing but negative politics," he said.

The minister maintained that policies for indigenous tribes have been fully respected and implemented.

"For the indigenous tribes living there, policies have been made and fully implemented. We are committed to protecting the nation's ecology. Moreover, our premier institutions... ZSI, BSI, WII have prepared management plans, and we have followed them entirely," Yadav said.

He added that ecology and economy should progress together.

"Politics should be for building the nation, not for spreading misinformation. Unfortunately, some people are indulging in the politics of spreading confusion," he said.

Yadav's remarks came days after Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, in an article in The Hindu, termed the Rs 72,000 crore project a "planned misadventure" that threatens the survival of the Shompen and Nicobarese tribes, destroys one of the world's most unique ecosystems and is highly susceptible to natural disasters.

Gandhi alleged the project was being pushed through by "making a mockery of all legal and deliberative processes".

"The ancestral villages of the Nicobarese tribals fall in the project's proposed land area. The Nicobarese were forced to evacuate their villages during the 2004 tsunami. This project will now permanently displace this community, ending its dream of returning to its ancestral villages," Gandhi had said.

She also argued that the Shompen face an even greater threat as the project denotifies a significant part of their reserve and will bring a large influx of people and tourists to the island.

In response, Yadav recently authored a column in the same newspaper, defending the project as one of strategic, defence and national importance.

He said the plan is designed to transform Great Nicobar into a major hub of maritime and air connectivity in the Indian Ocean Region, with an international container transhipment terminal, a greenfield international airport, a 450 MVA gas- and solar-based power plant and a township over 16 sq km.

The minister stressed that detailed environmental impact assessments, wildlife conservation plans, disaster management strategies and compensatory afforestation provisions had been put in place to minimise ecological impact.

He also argued that development on less than two per cent of the island's total forest cover cannot be equated with the threats portrayed by the Congress.

"Even today, 90 per cent of the island remains under forest cover. Compensatory afforestation has to be carried out somewhere, and if it has been done (in Haryana), it also contributes to cleaning Delhi's air. Does the country not even have the right to pursue development on less than two per cent of land?" he said at Thursday's event.

Yadav reiterated that the project is essential for national security, while dismissing Congress criticism as politically motivated.

"The Great Nicobar project is being implemented with a sense of responsibility and in full compliance with ecological and tribal policies. Raising doubts over it amounts to misleading the people. This is not healthy politics," he said. PTI GVS ZMN