NEW DELHI: With the aim to cut import bills, the Centre has given a green signal to the Rs 11,040-crore National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP). The idea behind the nod is to grow the crop in the Northeast region and Andaman and Nicobar Islands considering various factors like a good amount of rainfall and temperature.
According to a news report, the approval was given by the central government amid objections raised by a top forestry research institute of the country against introducing oil palm in biodiversity-rich areas.
The Supreme Court had in November 2019 sought the opinion of the Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education (ICFRE), an autonomous institute under the Environment Ministry, over the matter. The Andaman and Nicobar administration had approached it for relaxing its 2002 ban on the plantation of exotic oil palm in the archipelago.
In January 2020, the ICFRE submitted its report and said the introduction of oil palm "should be avoided" in biodiversity-rich areas, including grasslands, without detailed studies on its ecological impact.
In August 2020, the environment ministry had asked the ICFRE to conduct a detailed study on oil palm's invasiveness and ecological impact and develop models to substitute existing plantations and intercropping with indigenous trees and plants. Accordingly, scientists of the ICFRE did surveys, consulted stakeholders, and submitted a study proposal by November 2020.
The report submitted to the apex court (Supreme Court) on June 19, 2021, said there was no data from India to support several inputs received from ICAR-IIOPR. ICFRE director general Arun Singh Rawat, in an affidavit submitted along with the report, recommended again "comprehensive" and "detailed" studies to analyze the invasiveness of oil palm in Little Andaman, its effect on native fauna, and the overall qualitative changes in native flora and biodiversity.
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