Overview

• The Congress leader argues the diversion of lakhs of trees defies the 1988 National Forest Policy and calls compensatory afforestation in Haryana inadequate, noting part of that land was freed for mining.
• He alleges statutory lapses including no consultation with the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, disregard for the Tribal Council’s concerns and the Shompen policy, and a social impact assessment that omits Shompen and Nicobarese communities.
• He demands publication of critical documents, including reports from the ground‑truthing exercise behind the CRZ reclassification for the proposed transshipment port.
• He warns of harm to endangered species such as leatherback turtles, megapodes and saltwater crocodiles, and questions the project’s viability on a high‑seismic island that subsided during the 2004 tsunami.
• The government defends the plan as strategically vital, says only 1.78% of Great Nicobar’s forest area will be used and highlights a ₹72,000‑crore package of a port, greenfield airport, power plant and township, after Sonia Gandhi earlier called it a “planned misadventure.”