Over 2,600 trees felled in a village in south Goa for a power project, compensated with just 700 trees in one year against the promise of 8,100 trees. By Tanvi Jain
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More than a year after over 2,600 trees of wild species were felled in south Goa’s Suktolim village for INR 1,500-crore power transmission network from Chhattisgarh, less than 700 indigenous fruit trees have been planted against the 8,100 trees promised by the Goa Tamnar Transmission Project Limited (GTTPL).
While the Forest Department which is closely monitoring the afforestation, has stated that any future clearance of land within the forest limits will depend upon the company’s compliance to afforestation scheme, GTTPL has cited the pandemic and last year’s monsoon as reasons behind the delay in the planting of trees.
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Even the Karnataka Forest Department has raised concerns that the project which proposes a 400-kilowatt line crossing the Western Ghats through the state, can cause permanent damage to the Malenad-Mysore Tiger Landscape. However, the company has reportedly said that it plans to plant 8,000 trees by October 2020.
Meanwhile, in Goa’s Mollem village, three major projects proposed by the BJP — laying of a power transmission line, railway double-tracking, and highway expansion – in the Bhagvan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park, have been facing immense criticism not just from the opposition but from the locals as well, who recently created a human chain to protest against these projects.
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Defending the projects, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant last week informed that although they have sought permission to fell 70,000 trees but will cut only those that are required and will instead plant trees at the rate of 100 against 10 felled for the same.
Earlier this month, as many as 300 villagers in Goa’s Melaulim had tied rakhis to trees as a protest against the setting up of IIT campus amidst the thick forests, which are not just a source of livelihood for at least 2,500 people, depending directly on agricultural, grazing, forest lands and local water resources, but is also rich in biodiversity.
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