Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday called the Union government's Great Nicobar Project "one of the biggest scams and gravest crimes against this country’s natural and tribal heritage", billing it "destruction dressed in development's language".
Standing in the midst of the tropical rainforests of the Great Nicobar Island, Rahul alleged that the trees around him were going to be felled for the project to "fulfil Adani’s fantasies".
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited, Essar Ports Ltd, Container Corporation of India Ltd and JSW Infrastructure Ltd are among the 11 companies that are reported to have filed an expression of interest in 2023 for developing and running an international container transhipment port at Galathea Bay in the Great Nicobar Island.
Rahul, who was in Andaman and Nicobar Islands for a day on Tuesday, alleged that the government carried out a "whole exercise to stop him from getting here", seemingly referring to reports in the local media about the suspension of air connectivity to Nicobar Islands for four days beginning April 28.
The Nicobar Times reported on Monday that helicopter services to the Nicobar group of islands will remain suspended from April 28 to May 1 following the issuance of a notice to airmen by the Chennai Flight Information Region.
Digital media outlet The Wave Andaman said: "The suspension affects all scheduled helicopter operations that serve as a primary mode of transport between islands, particularly in remote areas where alternative connectivity options remain limited. These services are widely used for routine travel, medical emergencies, and transportation of essential supplies."
While Rahul did not elaborate on how he reached the Nicobar Island, he said in a post on X that accompanied a video message along the same lines: "I travelled through Great Nicobar today. These are the most extraordinary forests I have ever seen in my life. Trees older than memory. Forests that took generations to grow. The people on this island are equally beautiful — both the Adivasi communities and the settlers — but they are being robbed of what is rightfully theirs. The government calls what it is doing here a 'Project'. What I have seen is not a project. It is millions of trees marked for the axe. It is 160 square kilometres of rainforest condemned to die. It is communities that have been ignored while their homes have been snatched away.
"This is not development. This is destruction dressed in development’s language. So I will say it plainly, and I will keep saying it: what is being done in Great Nicobar is one of the biggest scams and gravest crimes against this country’s natural and tribal heritage in our lifetime. It must be stopped. And it can be stopped — if Indians choose to see what I have seen."