Sangma urges govt. to reconsider palm oil mission’s implementation in Northeast

New Delhi, Dec. 10 (PTI): National People’s Party (NPP) MP Agatha Sangma on Friday urged the Centre to reconsider the palm oil mission and go into a proper consultation before implementing it in the Northeast and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Participating in a discussion on climate change in Lok Sabha, Sangma, who is an MP of BJP-ally NPP in Meghalaya, said that in 2020, the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education had recommended that introducing palm oil should be avoided in areas which are rich in biodiversity and must be done after proper consultation.

“I would request the minister to kindly reconsider this and go into a proper consultation before heading for this mission in the Northeast and Andaman and Nicobar islands where our biodiversity is so rich,” she said.

In her remarks, she also said states like Meghalaya cannot afford to have a nature negative industrial growth and “we need to refigure our economic and social mindset to green our economies”.

“Development today has to be reconsidered and we cannot follow the western model of development. We have to work toward the well-being of the planet and the people at the same time,” Sangma said.

The Cabinet in August approved the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) with a financial outlay of INR 11,040 crore to promote domestic cultivation of oil palm in the next five years, and reduce the country’s dependence on edible oil imports.

Briefing the media on the decision, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur had said the Cabinet approved the NMEO-OP with a focus on the Northeast region and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.