Attempted justification for deliberately ignoring rights: Jairam Ramesh counters minister Jual Oram on Great Nicobar project

New Delhi: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has written to Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram over the Great Nicobar project, urging him to ensure that the provisions of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 are both seen to be implemented and are actually implemented in letter and spirit.

In his reply to Oram's letter to him last week, Ramesh said the minister's letter read like an "attempted justification for deliberately ignoring the rights of local tribal communities guaranteed under the Forest Rights Act, 2006".

"I sincerely appreciate the trouble you have taken to reply to my letter of May 13, 2026, on the Great Nicobar Island Project. However, I am concerned that instead of addressing the specific legal violations I have pointed out, your reply reads like an attempted justification for deliberately ignoring the rights of local tribal communities guaranteed under the Forest Rights Act, 2006," Ramesh said.

"Your statement that the 'developmental activities in Great Nicobar will be implemented in light of the continuing statutory obligations under the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956' is contrary to the fact that an area amounting to 84.10 square kms is sought to be de-notified from the Tribal Reserve area notified under that Regulation," the former environment minister said in his letter to Oram dated May 26.

Ramesh said he fails to understand the justification that re-notifying forests which are already used by tribal communities, as a tribal reserve under the 1956 Regulations, in lieu of the above de-notification, will aid implementation of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation,1956 or protection of the rights of the tribal communities.

"Your ministry had issued an No Objection Certificate for the above de-notification on November 18, 2020 subject to compliance with the FRA, 2006 and the order of the Ministry of Environment & Forests dated August 3, 2009 that clearly identifies the process to be followed to ensure informed consent of the tribal communities before diversion of forest lands. That process has not been followed," Ramesh said.

There is little truth in the assertion of the Andaman and Nicobar administration that no tribal habitation is to be displaced for the project, he said.

It is a fact that the total forest area to be diverted for phase I is 130.75 Sq km and these forests form part of the tribal habitat, used by the Shompen and encompasses the traditional lands and villages of the Nicobarese, Ramesh pointed out.

Even maps published by the project proponent's consultant AECOM have marked "location of Shompen tribes" within the project boundary.

A few Nicobarese villages have also been marked on these maps, he added "You are aware that a report was commissioned by the NITI Aayog through the noted anthropologist Prof. Vishvajit Pandya. The video report Dr. Pandya has recorded clear footage of a Shompen man saying, 'If you want to cut the forest, cut in on the coast. Do not climb our hills'. I am shocked that the administration is ignoring video evidence of a member of the Shompen community telling Dr Pandya and the team that their forests should be left alone'," Ramesh said.

"This is as clear and close to a direct opinion from the community that we can get and needs to be respected," he said.

In his letter, Ramesh also recalled that in its affidavit filed before the Calcutta High Court on February 19, 2025 in response to a writ petition, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs claimed that it had granted a NOC dated November 18, 2020 based on "facts given by the Andaman and Nicobar Administration in the denotification proposal".

It is obvious that the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has simply accepted these facts and claims of the Andaman and Nicobar administration on face value and did not seek any explanations, he said.

In the affidavit, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs asked that it be "removed from the list of respondents" in the matter, Ramesh said.

"This is most inexplicable, to say the very least. It is unfortunate that in your reply also, you have relied on the same set of claims of the Andaman & Nicobar administration without any independent assessment as the nodal ministry responsible for the protection of the interests of tribal communities," the Congress leader said.

"I would, therefore, urge you to ensure that the Ministry of Tribal Affairs takes a clear and categorical stand in the matter pending in the Calcutta High Court and ensure that the provisions of FRA, 2006 are both seen to be implemented and are actually implemented in letter and spirit in a transparent and accountable manner," he said.

"This will not prejudice the Hon'ble Calcutta High Court, as you suggest. The pendency of the writ petition mentioned by you is not a fetter on the Ministry of Tribal Affairs but actually an opportunity to ensure strict legal compliance to the Forest Rights Act, 2006 which would, no doubt, be appreciated by the judiciary itself," Ramesh said.

Responding to a specific paragraph of Oram's letter in which he have amplified what is now the government's overriding argument for the Great Nicobar Island Project--that it is essential because of its strategic importance, Ramesh said that well aware of this shifting narrative in the face of the project's incontrovertible adverse ecological impacts, he has written to the Defence Minister making specific suggestions as alternatives to the Great Nicobar Island Project as presently conceived.

"These include the long-delayed expansion of INS Baaz on Great Nicobar itself and of other critical assets of the Andaman and Nicobar Command," Ramesh said.

In his May 21 letter to Ramesh, Oram had said his ministry accords the highest importance to the recognition and protection of legally admissible rights under the Act, including individual forest rights and community forest rights.

Oram's letter was in response to Ramesh's earlier missive to him in which he had flagged "flagrant violation" of the rights of tribal communities in the project and sought remedial action immediately.

The letter exchange comes days after Ramesh wrote to Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, claiming the project would "destroy" the unique ecosystem there, and urging him to pause, reflect, and revisit the venture in its present design.