GUWAHATI: The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) on Tuesday asked Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Group, to halt their palm oil cultivation initiative in Assam and said this cultivation will pose a significant risk to the natural environment and biodiversity of the region.
The outburst of the AJP came hours after Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma launched the National Mission on Edible Oil – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) at Saikhowaghat near Dhola in Tinsukia district on Tuesday. The programme was assisted by Baba Ramadev’s Patanjali Foods Limited, formerly known as Ruchi Soya Industries Limited.
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In July 2022, the Assam government signed an agreement with Patanjali Foods Limited to cultivate palm oil despite environmental experts and politicians warning of the adverse impact on biodiversity, tribes and species of the Northeast.
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The agreement follows the Rs 11,040 crore ‘National Mission on Edible Oils—Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) with a special focus on the Northeast and the Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) Islands to reduce the “heavy dependence on the imports of edible oils”. The mission intends to cover an additional area of 6.5 lakh hectares for palm oil till 2025-26 thereby reaching the target of 10 lakh hectares ultimately.
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According to an MoU signed between the state agriculture department and Patanjali Foods, palm oil will be cultivated in the districts of Tinsukia, Jorhat, Golaghat, Nagaon, Kamrup and parts of Goalpara, Northeast Now reported.
Citing potential detrimental effects on the ecosystem, the AJP said that palm oil cultivation has been known to deplete soil quality through excessive groundwater absorption and contribute to environmental warming. As a result, numerous countries have imposed bans on palm oil cultivation due to its destructive nature. The Supreme Court of India also intervened by prohibiting palm oil cultivation in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to safeguard their biodiversity.
In a statement here, AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi emphasized that granting land to Patanjali Group for large-scale palm oil cultivation contradicts the public interest, as it threatens Assam’s fragile ecosystem.
“The Union Government’s policy to cultivate palm oil on 2 lakh hectares of Assam’s land by 2025-26 has already raised concerns about its environmental repercussions. The state government’s allocation of vast tracts of land in Tinsukia, Baksa, Udalguri and Sonitpur districts to Patanjali Group for palm oil cultivation further escalates these concerns. The cultivation initiative has been officially initiated near the Dhala-Shadia bridge in Tinsukia district,” Gogoi said.
“In light of the country’s recent economic slowdown, concerns are mounting about the environmental implications of palm oil cultivation. As it directly threatens biodiversity, there is an apprehension that the renowned Dibru-Saikhowa Sanctuary’s existence could be compromised,” Gogoi also said.
Gogoi raised awareness about the escalating heat wave and decreased rainfall in Assam over the past decade, potentially linked to global warming. The region is grappling with unprecedented droughts in certain areas. Given this context, the expansion of palm cultivation could aggravate these environmental challenges, posing an alarming threat to Assam’s nature and biodiversity.
In light of these concerns, Gogoi has appealed to the state government to reconsider its stance on encouraging palm oil cultivation, emphasizing the potentially detrimental consequences of such a move. The plea aims to prioritize the preservation of Assam’s environment and safeguard its invaluable biodiversity.