Congress' Gaurav Gogoi writes to PM Modi, urges him to withdraw palm oil plantation plan

Assam Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Wednesday, September 8 wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to withdraw the Centre's scheme on palm oil plantations in Northeast India. In the letter, the Congress MP urged PM Modi to 'implement sustainable alternatives'. Gaurav Gogoi also tweeted describing the initiative as 'an alien species that will threaten the region’s biodiversity and forces the people on an alternative economic model which is unsustainable must be revisited.'

Gaurav Gogoi's letter to PM Modi

Palm oil plantations - Congress MP fears diseases

In a one-page letter, Gaurav Gogoi wrote that Ebola disease in South Africa had spread 'by the oil palm plantation by bringing fruit bats in contact with people'. 

"The History of oil palm cultivation points to serious ecological and social devastation that can result from its monoculture. South East Asian countries like Malaysia and Indonesia have borne its ill effects. The outbreak of Ebola in West Africa too was felicitated by the Oil Palm Plantations by bringing fruit bats in contact with people," read the letter. 

The Congress MP has also cited negative effects on the environment and mentioned that the plantation can decertify the land of North East for being water-intensive. 'Human-wildlife conflicts are likely to increase and the economic vulnerability of forest-fringe communities will be worsened,' wrote Congress' Gaurav Gogoi. 

Effect on income of farmers

The Congress MP has further claimed that the oil palm plantation can have 'adverse effects on the income of the farmers of the region'. 

"80% are marginal farmers and it takes 5 to 7 years for maturation and will incur losses of Rs 7 lakh during this period. Once matured, oil palms can generate only Rs 1 lakh per ha. It will also push the region to the issues of food security," said Gaurav Gogoi. 

Cabinet nod for oil palm boost

After PM Modi's August 15 speech on new Central scheme stating India can cultivate around 2,800,000 hectares of land for palm oil trees, especially in the northeast region, where over 900,000 hectares is feasible for such cultivation, the cabinet had approved Rs 11,040 crore for the plan. The move was to encourage palm oil production in India and decrease its import. Meanwhile, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said his government will ensure environmental safeguards before going ahead with Centre’s plans to promote palm oil cultivation in the Northeast region.