Congress Leader Urges Reconsideration of Great Nicobar Airport, Proposes INS Baaz Expansion Alternative

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh has formally requested Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reconsider the government's decision to reject a full runway expansion at INS Baaz naval air station in favor of building a new airport at Galathea Bay on Great Nicobar Island. In his June 12 letter, Ramesh contends that the proposed greenfield airport carries substantially greater ecological and social costs than acknowledged by the government. The project would require leveling two 115-metre forest-covered hills, clearing 225 acres of protected forest and 130 acres of deemed forest used by the Shompen tribal community, and affecting 142 acres of the highest-protected coastal zone category that includes turtle nesting beaches and breeding grounds of the endangered Nicobar Megapode. Additionally, the project would involve creek reclamation, saltwater crocodile relocation, and displacement of 234 ex-servicemen settler families for a third time in recent years. Ramesh questions the timing of Defence Ministry concerns about environmental damage from INS Baaz expansion, noting the ministry took over six years to publicly comment on the airport project and did so only through anonymous briefings. The government has defended its choice, stating that five sites were assessed before Galathea Bay was selected, that 81% of the island will remain forested, and that a ₹2,220-crore conservation package will mitigate impacts over 30 years.