Environment clearance to Great Nicobar Project given without adequate study: Jairam Ramesh

In a letter to the Union Environment Minister, a senior parliamentarian has raised serious objections to the environmental clearance granted to the Great Nic...

What Happened

In a letter to the Union Environment Minister, a senior parliamentarian has raised serious objections to the environmental clearance granted to the Great Nicobar Island Integrated Development Project.
The letter alleges that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) relied on baseline data collected over just a few days — nine days for ecology surveys, seven days for turtle surveys, and four days for some forest surveys — qualifying effectively as a "Rapid EIA" rather than a comprehensive one.
The EIA report submitted in March 2022 covered only the winter season (December 2020 to February 2021), failing to capture the full seasonal ecological range required for Category A projects.
A request has been made for the High-Powered Committee (HPC) report — constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) — to be made public, as it remains classified as "confidential" despite forming the basis of a subsequent NGT judgment.
The NGT in its February 2026 judgment upheld the clearance relying on HPC conclusions, even as the HPC report was not formally part of the court record.

Static Topic Bridges

EIA Notification 2006 — Category A Projects and Baseline Data Standards

The Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, issued under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, is the primary regulatory framework governing environmental clearances in India. Projects are classified as Category A (higher environmental impact, assessed at the central level) or Category B (assessed at the state level).

Category A projects require mandatory full EIA and cannot skip the screening stage; they are assessed by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
Comprehensive EIA requires seasonal baseline data — ideally from all four seasons — to accurately capture ecological variability in flora, fauna, hydrology, and air/water quality.
A "Rapid EIA" uses single-season data and is permissible only for certain lower-risk projects; for highly sensitive ecosystems, it is considered scientifically inadequate.
The Terms of Reference (ToR) issued by EAC define the scope of study, methodology, and data requirements; deviation from ToR is a substantive procedural lapse.
Public hearings are mandatory for Category A projects: conducted at or near the project site by the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB), with a minimum 30-day public notice in national and vernacular dailies.

Connection to this news: The Great Nicobar project is a Category A mega-project. Critics argue that single-season, short-duration surveys are structurally inadequate for an island ecosystem hosting critically important and endemic species, violating the spirit and standards of the EIA Notification 2006.

Great Nicobar Island — Ecological and Strategic Significance

Great Nicobar, spanning approximately 910 sq km, is India's southernmost and largest island in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago. Its southern tip, Indira Point, is India's southernmost land point.

Ecological Status: About 85% of the island falls within the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve; approximately 50% is designated as protected national parks (Galathea National Park and Campbell Bay National Park).
Part of the Sundaland Biodiversity Hotspot, one of the world's most biodiverse and endemic-rich regions.
Leatherback Sea Turtle: Galathea Bay hosts one of the four major nesting grounds for the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) in the Indo-Pacific; the leatherback is the world's largest sea turtle, listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
Nicobar Megapode (Megapodius nicobariensis): An endemic, IUCN Vulnerable ground-nesting bird that builds incubation mounds from forest debris; the island contains 31.39 sq km of its highest-quality habitat globally.
Other endemic species: Nicobar macaque, Nicobar tree shrew, endemic reptile and amphibian assemblages.
Strategic Importance: Proximity to the Malacca Strait — the world's busiest commercial shipping lane; development as a naval and maritime hub in the Indo-Pacific.
Project components include a transshipment port, an international airport, a township, and a military base.

Connection to this news: The ecological sensitivity of the island — combining a UNESCO-designated biosphere reserve, internationally critical turtle nesting habitat, endemic fauna, and biodiversity hotspot status — makes the adequacy of EIA studies a matter of both national and international conservation significance.

HPC (High Power Committee) in the Environment Clearance Process

When the NGT identifies procedural deficiencies or unanswered questions in an environment clearance, it may direct the constitution of a High-Powered Committee (HPC) to re-examine the clearance and report back. This is a form of expert-assisted judicial oversight.

In its April 3, 2023, judgment, the NGT held that there were "unanswered deficiencies" in the Great Nicobar clearance and directed the constitution of an HPC to revisit the environmental clearance.
The HPC is typically composed of domain experts (ecologists, hydrologists, social scientists) appointed by the Tribunal.
In a subsequent judgment dated February 16, 2026, the NGT upheld the clearance relying on the HPC's conclusions — but without the HPC report forming part of the official court record.
The current controversy centres on the confidential status of the HPC report: transparency norms require that expert reports used to substantiate judicial decisions be in the public domain, especially when EIA reports, DPRs, and master plans are already publicly accessible.

Connection to this news: The opacity around the HPC report raises procedural fairness concerns — if a clearance's validity rests on a confidential expert assessment, affected communities and independent scientists cannot meaningfully challenge the factual basis of the decision.

NGT and Judicial Oversight of Environment Clearances

The National Green Tribunal (NGT), established under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, has original jurisdiction over civil cases involving substantial questions relating to environment, including the enforcement of environmental clearances.

NGT can examine the procedural and substantive adequacy of EIA studies.
It has the power to quash, modify, or uphold environment clearances and to direct remedial action.
NGT judgments are binding on all parties, including the MoEFCC and project proponents.
High Courts and the Supreme Court retain supervisory jurisdiction over NGT decisions; parties may appeal NGT orders to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has held that environmental clearances granted without adequate EIA studies are vulnerable to being set aside (see: Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action v. Union of India).

Connection to this news: The NGT's February 2026 judgment — relying on an unreleased HPC report — creates a precedent risk: upholding clearances based on inaccessible expert data undermines the judicial review function and contradicts principles of open justice.

Key Facts & Data

Great Nicobar Island area: ~910 sq km; India's southernmost point: Indira Point.
~85% of island: Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve; ~50%: protected national parks.
Part of Sundaland Biodiversity Hotspot (globally recognised biodiversity hotspot).
Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea): IUCN Vulnerable; Galathea Bay — one of 4 major Indo-Pacific nesting sites.
Nicobar Megapode: IUCN Vulnerable; endemic to Nicobar Islands; ~31 sq km best habitat on Great Nicobar.
EIA study period: December 2020 – February 2021 (single winter season only).
Survey durations: ecology — 9 days; turtle — 7 days; some forest surveys — 4 days.
NGT first order on Great Nicobar clearance: April 3, 2023 (directed HPC constitution).
NGT second order (upholding clearance): February 16, 2026.
Legal basis for EIA: Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; EIA Notification, 2006.
NGT established under: National Green Tribunal Act, 2010.