A renewed push to encourage oil palm plantations in Podu patta lands in the forests — for which the state forest department has “requested” its district officials to “without fail” permit farmers for taking up various types of crops, drill bore wells and ensure electricity supply to operate them — is set to threaten the natural forest ecosystems. This could also result in severe depletion of groundwater reserves in the forests. There has been no scientific study by any department or wing of the state government on the ecological and environmental impacts of growing oil palm trees inside forests.
Despite this, the forest department has, in a letter to its district officers in the second week of May, asked its officials to follow the instructions to allow raising any crops, including oil palm, issued in September 2022 by A. Santhi Kumari, then special chief secretary of forests and currently Chief Secretary. As part of the September 2022 instructions, the forest department was apprised that the government was making a huge push for increasing oil palm cultivation, and that the patta holders could raise crop of their choice.
Responding to questions on the 2022 instructions given by her and allowing oil palm cultivation in Podu land, Santhi Kumari said that the amendments in 2019 issued by the Union forests ministry had clarified that Podu patta holders were “free to raise any crop for their sustenance, agriculture or horticulture or commercial in nature, including .