---
title: "Great Nicobar Project | Model Diplomat"
description: "Congress plans to challenge the BJP-backed Great Nicobar project in Parliament, raising environmental and tribal concerns over the development on the islands."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/story/great-nicobar-project-congress-challenges-bjp-in-parliament"
---

# Great Nicobar Project

Rahul Gandhi's visit sparks parliamentary debate on project.

Model DiplomatMay 3, 20263 min readAsia

[PTIRahul Gandhi on two-day visit to Andaman and Nicobar Islands from April 26 - The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andaman-and-nicobar-islands/rahul-gandhi-on-two-day-visit-to-andaman-and-nicobar-islands-from-april-26/article70904550.ece)[The Hindu BureauRahul Gandhi plans Great Nicobar visit, clearance awaited - The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/rahul-gandhi-plans-great-nicobar-visit-clearance-awaited/article70909550.ece)[Abhinay LakshmanFully aware of Great Nicobar project’s impact, says Centre - The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/centre-tells-ngt-it-is-aware-of-great-nicobar-projects-biodiversity-impact-has-mitigation-plan/article70221566.ece)

## Great Nicobar Project Faces a New Test in Parliament

*Rahul Gandhi has turned Great Nicobar into a parliamentary fight, but the BJP-led Centre still controls the clearances, land and timetable.*

The immediate power shift is political, not administrative. **Congress is trying to raise the cost of the Great Nicobar project by moving it from a remote island dispute into a national parliamentary argument** after Rahul Gandhi’s late-April visit, with the party now demanding discussion in a parliamentary forum. The Centre, however, still holds the hard levers: the Union Territory administration, project clearances, and execution authority. [Parliamentary forum discussion needed for Great Nicobar projects, says Congress - The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/parliamentary-forum-discussion-needed-for-great-nicobar-projects-says-congress/article70934694.ece "thehindu.com") [Rahul Gandhi reaches Great Nicobar, says he made it despite administration’s efforts to stop him - The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/rahul-gandhi-reaches-great-nicobar-says-he-made-it-despite-administrations-efforts-to-stop-him/article70916784.ece "thehindu.com")

## Why Congress is pushing now

Gandhi’s visit gave Congress a sharper line of attack: not just environmental damage, but **process failure**. Recent reporting has described the Great Nicobar package at about **₹92,000 crore**, centered on a transshipment port, international airport, township and power plant, with a long-term master plan tied to tourism and logistics growth. [Rahul Gandhi plans Great Nicobar visit, clearance awaited - The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/rahul-gandhi-plans-great-nicobar-visit-clearance-awaited/article70909550.ece "thehindu.com") [Rahul Gandhi reaches Great Nicobar, says he made it despite administration’s efforts to stop him - The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/rahul-gandhi-reaches-great-nicobar-says-he-made-it-despite-administrations-efforts-to-stop-him/article70916784.ece "thehindu.com")

That matters because Congress does not need to stop the project outright to damage the government politically. It only needs to show that **tribal consent, forest-rights compliance and relocation planning remain contested**, especially for the Nicobarese and the Shompen. The Hindu has reported both that tribal councils say forest rights were not settled before clearances were pursued, and that a draft relocation plan has fueled accusations that the government’s claim of “no displacement” does not hold. [Forest rights of tribal people were not settled for Nicobar project: council - The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andaman-and-nicobar-islands/forest-rights-of-tribal-people-were-not-settled-for-nicobar-project-council/article69964782.ece "thehindu.com") [Centre’s claim of no displacement of tribals a lie: Congress on Great Nicobar project - The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/centres-claim-of-no-displacement-of-tribals-a-lie-congress-on-great-nicobar-project/article70823371.ece "thehindu.com")

For [India](https://modeldiplomat.com/discover/india "modeldiplomat.com"), this is becoming a test of whether large strategic infrastructure can still be slowed by procedural legitimacy questions even after headline clearances are granted.

## Why the Centre still holds the advantage

The government’s case is also clear: **Great Nicobar is not being sold as a local development scheme but as a national asset** with strategic, geopolitical and economic value. In court, the Centre has argued it is fully aware of biodiversity costs and has a mitigation and monitoring plan stretching for decades. [Confusion over clearances for Great Nicobar project persists - The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tribal-ministry-doesnt-want-to-be-part-of-nicobar-project-case/article70046019.ece "thehindu.com") [Fully aware of Great Nicobar project’s impact, says Centre - The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/centre-tells-ngt-it-is-aware-of-great-nicobar-projects-biodiversity-impact-has-mitigation-plan/article70221566.ece "thehindu.com")

That leaves the real contest over **legitimacy and delay**. Congress benefits if Parliament, courts, or public hearings force fresh scrutiny. The Centre benefits if it keeps the issue framed as strategic infrastructure rather than tribal-rights compliance. The losers, for now, are the island communities and settlers still navigating uncertainty over consent, land and relocation. [Tribal Consent Remains Missing as the Great Nicobar Project Advances - Frontline](https://frontline.thehindu.com/environment/great-nicobar-project-sia-shompen-land-rights/article69858021.ece "frontline.thehindu.com") [Centre’s claim of no displacement of tribals a lie: Congress on Great Nicobar project - The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/centres-claim-of-no-displacement-of-tribals-a-lie-congress-on-great-nicobar-project/article70823371.ece "thehindu.com")

## What to watch next

The next pressure point is whether Congress can convert Gandhi’s visit into a **formal parliamentary discussion or committee examination**, after he said he would raise the matter in Parliament. In parallel, the legal track still matters: the Calcutta High Court and the National Green Tribunal remain the venues where forest-rights compliance and environmental clearance can be reopened. For [international affairs](https://modeldiplomat.com/discover/international "modeldiplomat.com"), the bigger signal is whether New Delhi can keep strategic island build-outs on schedule once local consent and ecological scrutiny become national political issues. [Great Nicobar project one of biggest scams, gravest crimes against natural, tribal heritage: Rahul - The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/great-nicobar-project-one-of-biggest-scams-gravest-crimes-against-natural-tribal-heritage-rahul/article70920198.ece "thehindu.com") [Fully aware of Great Nicobar project’s impact, says Centre - The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/centre-tells-ngt-it-is-aware-of-great-nicobar-projects-biodiversity-impact-has-mitigation-plan/article70221566.ece "thehindu.com")

[Great Nicobar](https://modeldiplomat.com/tag/great-nicobar)[Congress](https://modeldiplomat.com/tag/congress)[BJP](https://modeldiplomat.com/tag/bjp)[Parliament](https://modeldiplomat.com/tag/parliament)[Environmental Issues](https://modeldiplomat.com/tag/environmental-issues)

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