National Mission on Edible Oils and Oil Palm
Either withdraw or relocate sites : PFN
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 30 2021: People for Nature (PFN), Thoubal has asked the Centre to either withdraw or relocate the proposed sites for National Mission on Edible Oils and Oil Palm, (NMEP-OP) which aims to reduce the country's dependency on edible oil imports.

A press release issued by PFN vice president Kh Romio Singh said the mission was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 9 last with an investment of over Rs 11,000 crore to boost the domestic production of palm and other oil seeds in biodiversity hotspot North East region and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Saying that implementation of the scheme will result in large scale deforestation and habitat loss for endangered species, he cautioned that large scale plantation and palm tree monoculture will also create ecological imbalance as the tree is not an endemic species in the region.

In a State like Manipur, widespread cultivation of a palm tree will be more catastrophic to the environment than that of planting poppy, he added.

Recounting that Sri Lanka has not only banned the import as well as cultivation of palm oil but also directed to uproot 10 per cent of the trees considering its impact on the environment, Kh Romio Singh urged the Central Government to either withdraw or relocate the proposed sites for the mission.

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