Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Centre of using the proposed Great Nicobar project as a cover for commercial interests.The Congress leader alleged that soldiers, settlers and tribal communities were being displaced so that “one businessman” could build hotels and casinos on ecologically sensitive land.Marking World Environment Day with a visit to the Great Nicobar Island, Gandhi said he travelled to Indira Point, the southernmost tip of India, walked through forests with centuries-old trees and dived among coral reefs that he described as among the world’s most vibrant.He said his visit and interactions with residents reinforced concerns over the environmental and social costs of the project. “I met tribal communities whose land is being taken away in violation of the Forest Rights Act, and settlers, including former soldiers placed there by the government, who are not receiving fair compensation,” Gandhi said on X.Rejecting the Centre’s argument that the project was driven by strategic concerns, Gandhi said if defence infrastructure was the priority, the government should expand INS Baaz, adding that the Navy had sought its expansion for five years but had been ignored. He also questioned the need for a transhipment port in Great Nicobar, pointing out that India was already building one in Kerala.The Congress leader alleged that nearly 1.5 crore trees would be felled and claimed coral reefs had been “erased from official maps”. “Every young Indian I have spoken to understands that no amount of profit is worth destroying what can never be recovered,” Gandhi said, adding that the islands could instead become “the most extraordinary sustainable destination the world has ever seen” through ecologically balanced development.Backing Gandhi’s criticism, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the government’s strategic justification for the project was a “damage-control spin” around an “ecologically disastrous” project.Ramesh claimed that the Public Investment Board under the Finance Ministry had concluded on August 8, 2024, that the project lacked strategic objectives. However, the Ministry of Defence notified it as a strategic project in August 2025, largely due to its location, he added.He further said a January 2025 decision requiring at least 55 per cent ownership by an Indian-owned and controlled entity, followed by an April 2025 proposal for a joint venture model with Viability Gap Funding (VGF), effectively opened the door for private participation. Calling it a “purely commercial project”, Ramesh alleged that these decisions paved the way for the Prime Minister’s “closest industrialist friend” to build five-star hotels and casinos and expand the “Modani Empire” at the cost of ecologically sensitive rainforests.