New Delhi, Apr 30 (PTI) Former Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria on Thursday dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s claims about the Great Nicobar project as “absolutely wrong”, asserting that the “highly integrated” initiative is of immense strategic and economic importance to India.
Bhadauria’s remarks came a day after Gandhi alleged that the Great Nicobar project at Campbell Bay in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was “one of the biggest scams and gravest crimes against the natural and tribal heritage of the country”.
Gandhi had claimed the project would involve the felling of millions of trees across 160 sq km of rainforest, describing it as “destruction dressed in development’s language”, and said he would raise the issue in the Parliament.
Responding to the allegations, Bhadauria told PTI Videos that such concerns were “misplaced”.
“This is a highly integrated project which is of immense importance to India, both strategically and economically. It is essential to understand its strategic significance as well as its role in national and local development,” he said.
According to Bhadauria, the project includes an international port with a container trans-shipment capacity of about 16.2 million units, a greenfield airport with a dedicated defence enclave for both civil and military use, a 450-megawatt power plant using a mix of gas and solar energy, and a planned township capable of accommodating around 6.5 lakh residents.
He said the initiative would serve as a capacity-building initiative aimed at developing a smart city.
“So, overall, if we look at this project, it is a highly integrated initiative that holds immense significance for India. It is crucial to understand this from a strategic perspective, specially in light of recent events, such as the ongoing conflict (in West Asia) and the developments in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
“Strategically, it is crucial to understand that this will provide us with the capability to position ourselves just 150 kilometers away from the Strait of Malacca. Our overall domain awareness, both in the air and maritime spheres, will receive a significant boost,” the former Air Chief Marshal said.
Furthermore, Bhadauria said, this will mark a pivotal development in India’s capability to secure its trade routes and to dominate the maritime environment whenever required “The Strait of Malacca is crucial because approximately 25-30 percent of the world’s trade routes pass through it, and China’s energy routes are about 75 percent dependent on it,” he added.
Without naming Gandhi, Bhadauria said the way this issue is being twisted, suggesting that tribal interests have been overlooked or that indiscriminate tree felling is taking place, is misleading.
“All these notions and the narrative being built are absolutely” he added Bhadauria said whether a project of such magnitude is undertaken, all factors are invariably taken into consideration. Measures are implemented to mitigate any adverse effects and to minimize their impact as much as possible, he said.
“To the best of my knowledge, only 1.78 percent of the total forest cover will be affected. Tribal interests remain paramount; committees are being constituted specifically to safeguard tribals’ interests. View from the perspective of the tribal communities, the future holds nothing but their development,” Bhadauria said. PTI PK NB
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