Great Nicobar Island Project is a misadventure, says Rahul sharing Sonia Gandhi’s article

Rahul Gandhi

Hours after Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi strongly criticised the Narendra Modi government over the Rs 72,000-crore 'Holistic Development of Great Nicobar' project, Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi reiterated that the project is a "misadventure, trampling on tribal rights and making a mockery of legal and deliberative processes."

In an article published in The Hindu titled “The making of an ecological disaster in the Nicobar”, Sonia Gandhi accused the government of insensitively pushing the project through while bypassing constitutional, legal, and environmental safeguards. Gandhi highlighted that the project would permanently displace the Nicobarese, whose ancestral villages fall within the proposed development zone. These communities were earlier forced to relocate after the 2004 tsunami and had hoped to return.

Criticising the project, Rahul Gandhi in a tweet said: "The Great Nicobar Island Project is a misadventure, trampling on tribal rights and making a mockery of legal and deliberative processes." Adding how Sonia Gandhi's article is a timely reminder of the 'gross injustice' inflicted upon the native populace, he said: " Through this article, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi highlights the injustices inflicted on Nicobar’s people and its delicate ecosystem by this project."

"The Great Nicobar Island Project is a misadventure, trampling on tribal rights and making a mockery of legal and deliberative processes."

Through this article, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi highlights the injustices inflicted on Nicobar’s people and… pic.twitter.com/3mM4xHKq04

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 8, 2025

In the article in The Hindu, she also flagged potential threats to local wildlife, including the endangered Nicobar long-tailed macaque and sea turtles. “Biodiversity assessments have been flawed, with studies conducted in off-seasons and using unreliable methods,” she said.

She also expressed concern about the seismic risks of building massive infrastructure in an earthquake-prone zone, saying it could jeopardise not just the ecology but also lives and investments. "The laws of the land are being mocked wholesale," Gandhi concluded. "Unconscionably, one of the country's most vulnerable groups may have to pay the ultimate price for it." Ecologically, the former Congress president warned that the project would lead to large-scale deforestation, estimating the loss of between 8.5 lakh to as many as 58 lakh trees. She criticised the government's plan for compensatory afforestation as an inadequate replacement for old-growth rainforests.

Gandhi alleged that the government manipulated facts through a high-powered committee to bypass coastal regulation zone (CRZ) protections. “The report of this committee has not been made public,” she noted, calling for transparency and accountability.