GCCI urges roadside plantation plan before sapling push

Panaji: While welcoming the govt’s plan to plant 10,000 saplings in 90 days, the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) warned that the initiative could repeat a familiar cycle in which trees planted during the monsoon are later removed for road widening, utility works and infrastructure projects.

Without proper planning, species selection and maintenance, plantations risk becoming temporary exercises rather than lasting environmental assets, GCCI said.

“If we plant with purpose today, choosing native fruit-bearing trees and integrating them into road design, we will gift our children a thriving, productive canopy, not just numbers on paper,” said GCCI president Pratima Dhond.

In a letter to the govt, GCCI cited the Ponda bypass corridor as an example where roadside plantations were lost to road expansion and utility works. Similar losses elsewhere in the state have undermined the environmental gains such drives are meant to deliver, it said.

“Success of any large-scale plantation programme depends not merely on the number of saplings planted, but on planning, species selection, site suitability, maintenance and long-term survival,” Dhond said.

GCCI recommended integrating plantations into road design from the outset, with designated planting zones, setbacks, utility corridors and future expansion needs factored in before saplings are planted.

The industry body said it has raised these concerns with the PWD since 2021 and advocated prioritising traditional Goan fruit-bearing trees such as mango, jackfruit, kokum, jamun and tamarind over ornamental or invasive species.

According to GCCI, such plantations would preserve Goa’s landscape, promote biodiversity, reduce temperatures, create green corridors, enhance carbon sequestration, generate livelihoods through fruit harvesting and support village tourism.