Goa’s agriculture minister Ramesh Tawadkar, who had recently decided that the coconut tree is not a tree, wants to declare India’s national bird, the peacock, a nuisance or “vermin”. Goa’s state animal, the gaur, too will be declared a vermin if Tawadkar has his way.
According to local newspaper Herald, Tawadkar said the Forest Department is assessing several wild animals to see if they can be categorised under the category for those that cause nuisance. Among these are monkeys and wild boars, in addition to the peacock and gaur. The assessment is based on the complaints of agriculturists, he said.
However, activists have said that such a declaration could have long-term negative consequences. It is the Forest Department’s constitutional duty to protect the animals, and by allowing deforestation and creating such allowances for agriculturists, they have destroyed the animals’ natural habitats, they said. Instead, activists called for a more sustainable solution to the problem, which would keep the needs of the local ecosystem in mind.
In December last year, the Goa cabinet had decided that the coconut tree does not fulfill the characteristics of true tree under the Goa Daman and Diu Preservation of Trees Act, as it "does not have branches". This allowed a company called Vani Agro to tear down 500 of them in the state’s Sanguem area to build a liquor distillery. Earlier, the company would have needed the Forest Department’s permission to fell the trees.
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