Palm plantation project: Meghalaya MP Sangma concerned about ecological damage

Meghalaya Member of Parliament (MP) Agatha Sangma has expressed grave ecological concerns over the Union government’s decision to promote palm plantations in North East India and Anadaman and Nicobar Islands.

An ambitious plan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it was announced last week that a central government sponsored National Mission on Edible Oils-Palm Oils (NMEO-OP) was being launched with a financial outlay Rs Rs 11,040 crore.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Sangma express concern over the expansion of palm plantations in the ‘biodiversity hotspot and ecologically fragile’ North East Region.

Her letter stated that palm tree is no an endemic species of plan in North East region and large-scale adoption of a foreign species of plant, especially which is water intensive, will create irreparable ecological imbalance in the region and will also adversely affect the ground water table.

“The concern is generated when one peeks into the finer details of the programme, the plantation areas so selected are the NE region and the Andaman Islands, both of which are biodiversity hotspots and ecologically fragile. Palm plantations in all certainty will denude vast swathes of land of its forest cover. Loss of habitat for the endangered wildlife will havea devastating impact,” she said in the letter.

Sangma also stated that the project will affect the socio-cultural aspect of the region, as the region, though sparsely populated than the rest of India, is dotted with many ethnic tribes, each having its cultural heritage and practices.

She wrote, “Ownership of land is a centrality of any tribal society, which is also connected to the identity, in many cases, it is the community ownership. Widespread plantations for commercial gain in all possibilities will detach the tribesman of this prized possession of land and wreak havoc on the social fabric.”

She said that she is opposed to the unilateral imposition of the NMEO-OP programme on the people of North East region and appealed to the Prime Minister to have wider consultation with all stakeholders before moving forward with the decision.