Herald: We are here today to discuss yet another aspect of Goa that is under severe threat. The issue is very significant because we are in a situation where we have to imagine a Goa without coconut trees. The government has now stated that our beloved coconut tree will no longer be called a tree, but a shrub or grass. The government has gone into technicalities and played around with the Trees Act, which states that the coconut tree was not always classified as a tree before and was included in the classification in 2008 because they had to deal with fallen trees. The sum and substance is that by taking the coconut tree off the list of trees, the government has made it possible for big projects and industrialists from outside to destroy large tracts of coconut plantations without having to go to the forest department for permissions. This is a complete sell out; let us see it for what it is. It is important to look at it not just as a conservation issue, not just from a social issue, but as a backhanded attempt by the government to knock down the last bastions of what Goa is all about. Our panelists for this discussion include: Claude Alvares, Prajal Sakhardande and Fr Victor Ferrao from the Rachol Seminary.
Herald: Claude, a very simple question: what’s going on?
Alvares: It’s begun with a serious problem, which also reflects what Goa is about, and that is the problem of falling coconut trees. What do you do when a coconut tree is going to fall on somebody else’s property? Under the Trees Act, you need to get permission to cut any tree. The Trees Act was notified in 1984. From that time, till 2008, there was an unwritten understanding with the Forest Department that the coconut tree is such a species that you don’t need to get permission for felling it. For whatever reasons, if you cut a coconut tree, the authorities wouldn’t say that you violated the Trees Act. It was a practical understanding that the coconut tree would not be considered for the purposes of the Act. There’s a good reason for it, which is: no Goa would cut a coconut tree. All Goans have raised coconut trees, some of us have seen them from the day they were put into the ground. The avenue of coconut trees on the Guirim stretch, which is now going to be cut, was planted in 1980. I remember because my first son was born at that time. We were on our way to the hospital, and the trees were being planted at that time. Thirty years later, the government is going to knock all the trees off. No Goan is going to cut a coconut tree because it is everything to the Goenkar. The Forest Department thought that Goans would only cut only diseased trees or trees that were falling, but they would not unnecessarily cut a tree. The problem came now. Certain people are coming into Goa and they have purchased orchards of coconut trees. They want to cut these coconut trees and put up buildings. That is why the changes are being made.
Herald: Prajal, can’t this be challenged? Can’t this be legally tackled?
Sakhardande: Definitely, the coconut tree can be protected, and it has to be protected. First of all, the government has declared that the tree is a grass, in the sense that it can be cut easily. This entire issue is builder-friendly. We have to fight for the tree and protect it. I was thinking of doing a ‘Chipko movement’ like it was done in Uttar Pradesh.
Herald: Fr Victor, is there a way forward to see that this is stopped?
Ferrao: It is possible to fight back. It is quite surprising even the Congress, which had allowed farmers to insure each coconut tree in Goa, has forgotten it. There were already signals that coconuts in Goa were threatened. So the government took some action in terms of putting insurance on the coconut tree. Suddenly that is also gone. That is insulting. We Goans derive our identity from the coconut tree. We cannot imagine our life outside it.
Herald: Prajal, what is the significance of the tree to our culture, tradition, history, etc?
Sakhardande: The food heritage of Goa is associated with the coconut. In every aspect of Goa’s food, the coconut is involved. The famous Goan fish curry cannot be done without the coconut. It is the Kalpavriksha. There are so many aspects of Goa’s lifestyle that involve it. The huts were incomplete without it. The St Catherine Chapel in Old Goa, when ordered its construction in 1510, it was basically dried coconut palm fronds. The coconut tree avenues provide natural beauty to Goa. It is part of our natural heritage, our cultural heritage, our historical heritage, and our social heritage.
Herald: Claude, if the coconut tree is taken away, what is Goa left with? You fought against mining destruction and environmental destruction. Don’t you think this is on that same scale?
Alvares: I don’t know whether the problem will not be solved with the government giving up the amendment which it has proposed to put in the coming Assembly session. If it does that, the problem ceases; the coconut tree will remain a tree and permission will be needed for its felling. If all people of Goa put sufficient pressure on the environment minister, then obviously he will realise that this is the wrong move.
Herald: It is very important to know why it was done. This whole matter came to light when we were investigating a story in Sanguem. A company called Vani Agro was given clearance by the Investment Promotion Board (IPB) to do a hatchet-kind of exercise, where you are hellbent on violating every law of the land. The new IPB Act basically allows you to give permissions to areas by notifying it as an IPB area. Once that happens, every law of the land – the Regional Plan, the Town and Country Planning Act, the Goa Land Act – falls completely. However, the concerned party would have had to go to the Forest Department to get permission to fell trees. That became a huge stumbling block for big projects. This has been done to ensure that this stumbling block is removed. Ultimately, the head of that company went on record to Herald to actually stated that they can carry out their project without having to go to the Forest Department to cut coconut tries. He let slip that information, which made us realise that this connect is very serious. Claude, you had this experience with Tiracol as well. Do you see this as a pattern?
Alvares: As far as my inside information goes, the coconut tree was the first victim. The second victim was proposed to be the cashew tree. There is the same problem in Tiracol. Leading Hotels would like to cut down all cashew trees. That entire hillside is infested with them. The cashew tree falls within the definition of a tree and it is covered by the Trees Act. Once it is covered by the Act, you have problems. You can cut only this amount every year: one hectare per permission and you can be given only two permissions every year. The golf course would take around 15 years to construct. By the time you cut down all the trees, you’ll never be able to construct a golf course. The proposal went up to the highest rungs of the government to also exclude the cashew. You can imagine the sate of Goa if you exclude the coconut tree and cashew tree from the definition of tree. What else is left in Goa? From that the government will go further. It will go to the jackfruit tree and mango tree. Who has given this power to the government to declare what is a tree and what is not a tree? Are the Chief Minister and Environment Minister botanists first of all? Don’t they know that these species are mentioned as trees in all botany books? Do we mention the coconut tree as a coconut bush? We always call it a bush or a shrub. Just because it is an elected government, it does not mean it can suddenly decide water is not water and the Western Ghats are not the Western Ghats and mining is agriculture. This nonsense has to stop and the people must object.
Herald: I’ll just read out a statement made my Environment Minister Rajendra Arlekar. He says, “Coconut tree was included in the list of trees by error in 2008. We have amended the Act only to correct it.” Claude, a quick response.
Alvares: Correct, no trees are included in the 1984 Act. Since the coconut tree did not have branches as such, they said that they are not going to call it a tree, and therefore, they will not entertain ay permission for felling it. They knew that nobody would cut it unless it was absolutely necessary.
Herald: Prajal, Arlekar said, “Botanically, coconut has been classified as a palm and not a tree”. What are your thoughts? Why have they done this?
Sakhardande: This government has crossed all limits. This is the last nail in their coffin. As Claude rightly said, who is the government to classify the coconut tree as grass? Just because they have been elected, the do not have the power to redefine every aspect of Goa. Do we have to alter out textbooks to suit these people? Are they educated people? This government is anti-environment, anti-people, anti-Goa. They have done this to please the builders. This is a builder-friendly government. Why is the tree avenue at Guirim being cut? It is because of the builders.
Alvares: The connection that Prajal is talking about is very clear. The RP is very much concerned with road widening. The road widening is related to the demands of the builders. The moment a road is taken to 6 meters, you can put up a one-plus-one constructions, and so on. All these roads are lined with coconut trees. Once the coconut trees are removed, then the whole area is open.
Herald: Fr Victor, how can powerful institutions fight this? The government has only one agenda: development. In the development versus environment battle, development is winning. How do we counter it?
Ferrao: It is urgent that every Goan rises up against this kind of development. This type of development is actually keeping people undeveloped. We are left behind as development goes ahead. Every Goan should think about how the government is leaving him behind. Coconut trees come from our ancestors. We are indebted to them. Our Hindu brothers and sisters offer the coconut to their Gods.
Herald: This is an extremely serious fight and allowing the murder of coconut trees is something that is going to harm every Goan home. This is something that one needs to fight and stop. This has to be a fight to the finish because the basic Goan identity is at stake. If it’s coconut today, it can be anything tomorrow. We have to fight, and we will fight.
