US EditionIndian Opposition Slams Nicobar Megaport Plan as 'Destruction'
Rahul Gandhi said the project would cut rainforest and threaten Indigenous communities, while the government calls it strategic and nationally important.
- On Wednesday, Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi slammed the proposed $9 billion Great Nicobar Island megaport project as "destruction dressed in development's language," vowing to stop it.
- Located nearly 3,000 kilometres from New Delhi, the island sits at the entrance to the Strait of Malacca, through which up to 30 percent of global maritime trade passes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi maintains the project is "strategic, defence and national importance."
- Development plans would see 160 square kilometres of rainforest cleared, displacing around 9,000 residents, including 1,200 Indigenous Nicobarese and Shompen people. Survival International's Sophie Grig called it an "ill-conceived project, which must be cancelled before an entire people are wiped out."
- Gandhi, who visited the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on April 26, criticized corporate influence and argued that development priorities must shift to local community needs rather than corporate interests.
- While India's environmental court cleared the project in February, Minister Bhupender Yadav previously insisted the plan "poses no threat to the island's tribal groups" and "does not jeopardise the eco-sensitivity of the region.
32 Articles
32 Articles
Rahul Gandhi calls Great Nicobar Project a crime against nature, tribes
Rahul Gandhi slammed the Centre’s mega project in Great Nicobar Island, calling it a direct assault on fragile ecosystems and indigenous communities. He argued that the scale of environmental damage and displacement risks far outweighs any projected strategic or economic gains.
Great Nicobar project one of biggest scams, gravest crimes against natural, tribal heritage: Rahul Gandhi
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has strongly criticized the Great Nicobar project. He described it as a major scam and a grave crime against the nation's natural and tribal heritage. Gandhi stated that the project involves cutting down millions of trees and displacing communities.
Rahul Gandhi slams Centre over Great Nicobar project, calls it one of the biggest scams: 'Destruction dressed in ...'
The Congress MP, who went to Campbell Bay in Nicobar to meet the tribal leaders against the project, said that it (Great Nicobar project) would involve cutting down millions of trees across 160 sq km of rainforest.
Rahul Gandhi reaches Great Nicobar, says he made it despite administration’s efforts to stop him
The Lok Sabha LoP met with Nicobarese community leaders resisting the Union government’s mega infrastructure project, settler and ex-servicemen families, and paid floral tributes to former PM Indira Gandhi at Indira Point
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 41% of the sources lean Right
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
