The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) on August 8 asked Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Group to halt their palm oil cultivation initiative in Assam.
Assam Government Signed Agreement With Patanjali Foods Limited
The AJP said this cultivation will pose a significant risk to the natural environment and biodiversity of the state.
The outburst of the AJP came hours after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma launched the National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) at Saikhowaghat near Dhola in Tinsukia district on August 8.
The programme was assisted by Patanjali Foods Limited. The Government of Assam signed an agreement with Patanjali Foods Limited in July 2022 to cultivate palm oil despite environmental experts and politicians warning of the adverse impact on the biodiversity of the region.
According to the MoU, palm oil will be cultivated in the districts of Tinsukia, Jorhat, Golaghat, Nagaon, Kamrup and parts of Goalpara.
“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 Dhola-Sadiya bridge in Tinsukia district,” AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi said.
