PORVORIM: The coconut palm, which was controversially stripped off its tree status in Goa last year, will not only have its status restored but will also be designated the ‘State Tree’.
The State Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, on Wednesday paved the way to declare the coconut palm, as the State tree – a promise made by Goa Forward to the electorate in the run up to the February elections.
The cabinet approved the amendments to the Goa Daman & Diu Preservation of Tree Act 1984 for inclusion of coconut palm as tree, “State Tree, and for exempting commercial tree plantations.”
“The State government has decided to include coconut palm as tree in Goa Daman & Diu Act and Preservation of Tree Act, 1984 to regulate felling of coconut trees under this Act. Further in 2008 Amendment to this Act, a new Section 1-A was inserted to include coconut as tree under the Act but was omitted later in an amendment done in 2016 as it was leading to some confusion. Hence it is now deemed appropriate to include “coconut palm” in the definition of “Tree” under Section (j) in Chapter 1 of this Act,” says the cabinet note.
“Since there is no provision at present in the Act to declare a tree as a State Tree, a new Section 7A, which shall define the “State Tree”, is being included,” the note adds.
As there are no special provisions for farmers who want to replace existing coconut trees which are non-productive or which can cause damage to property or endanger lives, Section 8A after Section 2 is proposed to be included to appoint Agriculture Officers and issue guidelines for management of coconut plantations.
Further, the note reads, “As there is no existing provision to exempt commercial tree plantations, from the provision of Preservation of Trees Act, 1984, which may have been discouraging people from raising plantations of commercially profitable tree species, it is proposed to insert a new Section 32A, exemption of cultivation for commercial plantation.”
The opposition, as well as civil society, has repeatedly accused the previous BJP-led coalition government of amending the Goa Daman & Diu Preservation of Trees Act 1984, and dropping the tree status accorded to the coconut tree, to unfairly hasten real estate and industrial development at the cost of environment.
The amendment to the Trees Act is likely to be tabled in the Assembly during the ongoing monsoon session.
