Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday expressed concern over the Great Nicobar Project, which he described as widespread environmental damage in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, saying he was “a little disturbed that such beauty will be destroyed,” during a detailed account shared in a YouTube video.
“I was a bit disturbed that such beauty would be destroyed. I was saying that more and more people should experience this. I don’t think people understand, and certainly the government doesn’t understand,” Rahul said.
Read also | The most serious crime against nature and tribal heritage: Rahul Gandhi on the Great Nicobar Project
In the video, Rahul Gandhi narrated his visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, including the Nicobar region, where he said he observed pristine forests and coral ecosystems, and spoke to locals and members of tribal communities.
He claimed that the scale of development proposed in the area could lead to irreversible environmental loss.
“We went to Andaman and Nicobar Islands. We spent a day in Andaman Islands. In Andaman Islands, we went on a scooter trip. We met locals there. We talked to them. We met tourists there. We also talked to them. We are 100% on board in pushing and developing facilities for environmentally balanced tourism in Andaman Islands,” he said.
Rahul added: “61 square kilometres! Please understand this, this is four times as much as New Delhi, okay. And they are building this project in the most pristine ecological environment in this country. They are snatching land from the people who are forced to settle there, and they are snatching land from the tribals.”
LoP LoP also raised concerns about coral reef systems in the region, noting that any large-scale construction could significantly impact marine biodiversity and carbon sequestration functions in coral ecosystems.
Read also | The Great Nicobar Project: Strategic necessity or environmental dilemma?
“Destroying the Nicobar reefs is like killing hundreds and hundreds of tigers in India. This is the same, isn’t it? They are wiping out a huge chunk of India’s valuable resource, a biological resource for India. It is basically similar to destroying Project Tiger. Coral reefs, of course, provide habitat for a variety of organisms associated with them,” he said.
The Congress leader also alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Forest Rights Act in the region and claimed that tribal communities were not adequately consulted in the decision-making processes.
“Without going into the proceedings of the Forest Rights Act (FRA). We were told that the FRA was not being used, it was being misused. People were not asked questions. Can you give us, you know, how you feel that the FRA was not being used. The FRA model has been very clearly laid out and given shape to how the FRA is conducted and the process of the meeting and the Gram Sabhas,” Rahul said.
Expanding on his statements, Gandhi later shared a post on X, where he reiterated his concerns after visiting the southern tip of India.
He wrote: “I visited the southern tip of India. I stopped at Indira Point. I walked under trees that have stood for centuries. I snorkeled in the most vibrant coral reef on Earth. I sat with the people who live there. The tribal communities, whose lands have been seized by violating the Forest Rights Act. The settlers, many of them former soldiers, placed on these islands by the Indian government, who do not receive just compensation.”
Rahul Gandhi also criticized the government’s justification for the Great Nicobar Development Project, saying it was conceived as a defense initiative. He further claimed that India is already developing a transshipment port in Kerala, questioning the need for another large-scale port project in the islands.
“The Modi government and the BJP are telling you that the Great Nicobar Project is about defence. It is not. Expand INS Baaz – we will fully support the government. The Navy has been demanding expansion for five years – and it has been ignored. They tell you it is about a transshipment port. It is not. India is already building one in Kerala, which is on the mainland. What it is in reality: 1.5 crore trees cut down. Coral reefs have been erased from official maps. Soldiers and the displacement of tribals,” Rahul said. “So that one entrepreneur can build hotels and casinos on the most irreplaceable ecological land in India.”
Concluding his remarks, Gandhi said: “Every young Indian I have spoken to understands this. You know that no amount of profit is worth destroying what can never be restored. I am for ecologically balanced development. These islands can be the most extraordinary sustainable destination the world has ever seen. This is an India worth fighting for.”
According to the government, the massive Great Nicobar Island infrastructure project seeks to leverage the island’s proximity – about 40 nautical miles – to the east-west shipping route and reduce India’s dependence on foreign shipping ports while serving defense and national security objectives.
The project includes an international container terminal with a capacity of 14.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (MTEU), a Greenfield International Airport with a capacity of 4,000 peak hour passengers, a 450 MVA solar and gas power plant, and a planned township.
