ST panel denies info on Great Nicobar project

The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has declined to entertain a Right to Information (RTI) application seeking disclosure about the impact of the Great Nicobar Island mega infrastructure project on local tribes and the relocation of villages from a tiger reserve.

- Jitendra Choubey @ New Delhi

The NCST cited parliamentary privileges and other legal exemptions as reasons for the refusal.

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has appointed a new 'overarching committee' to review its own recommendations regarding the environmental clearance given to the Andaman and Nicobar mega project. According to experts, the committee may undermine the integrity of the one established under the directives of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).