From: b sabha <bcsabha.kal...@gmail.com>
From: Roger D'Souza <rdsg2...@gmail.com<mailto:rdsg2...@gmail.com>> Date: 3 May 2016 at 06:49 Subject: Is coconut a tree or not, plea in Goa HC To: chief secretary goa <cs-...@nic.in<mailto:cs-...@nic.in>>, "governor.goa" <governor....@gov.in<mailto:governor....@gov.in>>, Rajendra Arlekar <rajendraarle...@gmail.com<mailto:rajendraarle...@gmail.com>>, "cm.goa" <cm....@nic.in<mailto:cm....@nic.in>>, Laxmikant Parsekar <laxmikantparse...@gmail.com<mailto:laxmikantparse...@gmail.com>>, secy-governor....@gov.in<mailto:secy-governor....@gov.in>, "usforest-sect....@nic.in<mailto:usforest-sect....@nic.in>" <usforest-sect....@nic.in<mailto:usforest-sect....@nic.in>> All Goans are proud of heritage activist Prajal Sakhardande, chairperson of the Goa For Giving Trust, Armando Gonsalves, and Mumbai-based trust Vanashakti for standing up against the draconian and anti-environmental stand of the Goa Government and the pliant rubber stamp Governor Mridula Sinha in choosing to destroy our beloved coconut trees and our very Goan identity. If the Goa Government is full of "bonddem" and crooked rogues then perhaps the Governor forgets she is in Goa and not in Bihar??? Does the Goa Government and these rogues Mridula Sinha, Parsekar and Arlekar want Goa to look like this??? <https://www.facebook.com/groups/760818330711828/permalink/851331381660522/> <http://www.jantakareporter.com/india/jharkhand-modi-mgnarega/44217> [https://external-sit4-1.xx.fbcdn.net/safe_image.php?d=AQAQ-emcfb-AbjQX&w=470&h=246&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jantakareporter.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F09%2F78594081-monsoon-deficits-and-farmer-suicides.jpg&cfs=1&upscale=1] Is coconut a tree or not, plea in Goa HC (Times of India) IANS | May 2, 2016, Panaji, May 2 (IANS) A month after the Goa government de-recognised the coconut palm as a tree, the battle over the official nomenclature of the tropical tree, often synonymous with Goa's picturesque landscapes, will now be fought in court. The Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday issued notice to the state chief secretary seeking response over a petition challenging the decision of the Goa government in March to de-recognise the coconut palm as a tree under the Goa, Daman and Diu Preservation of Trees Act, 1984. The petition has been filed by heritage activist Prajal Sakhardande, chairperson of the Goa For Giving Trust, Armando Gonsalves, and Mumbai-based trust Vanashakti. "The government through the chief secretary has been asked to file a response by June 13, when the next hearing has been scheduled," Sakhardande told reporters on Monday. The controversial amendment to the Trees Act, which de-recognised coconut palm as a tree, was passed by the assembly in January. It was formally accorded assent by Governor Mridula Sinha in March. The opposition parties and environmentalists have slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition government for passing the bill which, they say, will facilitate "mass massacre of coconut trees in the state". Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar has said the law was amended to allow coconut farmers to cull old and non-productive trees without being caught in red-tape. Coconut tree law: Activists challenge Parsekar govt’s Tree Act in High Court The petition which was filed before the bench in Goa recently has sought to stop the state government from proceeding on the Act which no longer accords 'tree' status to the coconut tree. Panaji | Published:May 3, 2016 11:09 am [coconut-goa-759] The petition which was filed before the bench in Goa recently has sought to stop the state government from proceeding on the Act which no longer accords ‘tree’ status to the coconut tree. State-based heritage activist and two other NGOs have filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court challenging Laxmikant Parsekar-led government’s recent move to amend the Act re-classifying the coconut tree as palm. The petition which was filed before the bench in Goa recently has sought to stop the state government from proceeding on the Act which no longer accords ‘tree’ status to the coconut tree. Heritage activist Prajal Sakhardande, NGOs–Goa For Giving and Mumbai based Vanashakti– has termed the amendment to the Goa Preservation of Trees Act, 1984 as “illegal”. The petition seeks to restrain the respondents from proceeding on the basis that coconut trees are not ‘trees’ under the Goa Preservation of Trees Act, 1984. The petitioners have said the amendment expressly removes the extended protection given to the ‘coconut tree’ under the Act. The consequence is that coconut trees that do not conform to the width/height requirements can now be felled indiscriminately without applying for permission from the tree authority. “It modifies the definition of ‘tree’ protected under the Act to exclude trees that have a trunk/body less than 10 centimetres in diameter at a height of one meter from ground level. It may be noted that earlier, the qualification was that the trunk was required to have a diameter of 5 centimetres at a height of 30 centimetres from the ground level,” the petition states. “As a result any tree that does not meet the ten centimetre criteria can be felled indiscriminately without applying for permission from the tree authority,” it adds. The petitioners have said The Goa Preservation of Trees Act, 1984 was enacted for the purpose of preserving trees in the territories of Goa, Daman, and Diu. To that end, the Act created a mechanism to prevent indiscriminate felling of trees, and encourage planting of trees. Pointing out the environmental impact of this Act the petitioners have said in the present environmental scenario, given that the decreased amount of water reaching the sea from river, the land near the coast will become more saline in a process that is called ‘salinity intrusion’. “As a consequence, land along the coast will be rendered barren and useless of cultivation. This process has already begun causing untold damage in other parts of India such as Gujarat,” they said. - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/coconut-tree-law-activists-challenge-parsekar-govts-tree-act-in-high-court/#sthash.vIuRK79P.dpuf [http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/epaperimages/352016/352016-md-hr-3/164112237.JPG]
