Plea before NGT seeks full disclosure of panel report on Great Nicobar Project
New Delhi/ Sri Vijaypuram (Port Blair): A new interlocutory application filed before the National Green Tribunal by activist Ashish Kothari has sought complete disclosure of the high-powered committee (HPC) report that reviewed alleged gaps in the clearances granted to the Rs 81,000-crore Great Nicobar Island mega-infrastructure project. The application also challenges the Centre’s decision to keep the report confidential.
In a report published by The Indian Express, Kothari has argued that the government’s claim of “strategic and privileged information” is being used to avoid judicial scrutiny, calling it contrary to facts. The plea states that the Environment Ministry’s refusal to share the report is “illegal and violative of principles of natural justice”, especially since the document directly concerns the clearances he has already challenged.
The application has been filed in ongoing proceedings before a six-member NGT bench headed by Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava. The Bench is hearing two petitions by Kothari, one alleging violations of the Island Coastal Regulation Zone 2019 notification and another seeking a reconsideration of the environmental clearance granted to the project.
The HPC was constituted in April 2023 on the Tribunal’s directions to address “unanswered deficiencies” related to the project’s environmental impact. The committee was headed by former Environment Ministry Secretary Leena Nandan. The Ministry has earlier told the NGT that no part of the proposed trans-shipment port falls in a no-go development zone under the island’s coastal regulation framework, a point Kothari’s counsel has disputed.
The Great Nicobar project includes a trans-shipment port, an airfield for both civil and military use, a township, and a 450 MVA power plant based on gas and solar energy. The plan spans 166 sq km and requires diversion of 130 sq km of forest land.
According to an affidavit filed by the Environment Ministry on July 5, the HPC report was submitted to the Tribunal in a sealed envelope. A sealed copy was again circulated to the Bench on October 30 during the previous hearing.
In the new application, Kothari has urged the Tribunal not to rely on the findings of the sealed report, arguing that any decision based on undisclosed material would compromise natural justice and the right to a fair hearing. The plea notes that over 40 documents related to the project’s clearance process, including the environmental impact assessment and masterplan, are already public, and questions why the HPC’s review alone has been classified as confidential.
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Karnataka Minister urges Centre to launch Bengaluru–Vijayapura express train
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Infrastructure Development Minister M B Patil has urged the Centre to launch an express train service between Bengaluru and Vijayapura.
The demand comes following the completion of the 9.60-km double-line railway work between Alamatti and Wandal, which has been open for traffic since March 25, the Minister's office said in a statement on Wednesday.
"He has written a letter regarding this on March 30 to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister V Somanna," it said.
In the letter, Patil stated that the Alamatti–Wandal section, part of the Gadag–Hotgi double-line project, has now been completed. During an earlier meeting, it was mentioned that once this work was finished, an express train between Bengaluru and Vijayapura could be introduced. He has now requested that this be given priority.
He highlighted that thousands of people from Vijayapura and Bagalkote districts travel daily to Bengaluru for education, healthcare, administrative work, and business, and this train service would greatly benefit them.
According to him, currently, the train journey between the two cities takes about 15 hours, which is inconvenient.
He stressed the need to reduce this travel time to around 10 hours.
The minister also requested that trains departing from Bengaluru be given a limited stops upto Hubballi, and that trains proceeding to Vijayapura should be routed via the Hubballi and Gadag bypass lines.
