AAP government will reverse coconut tree amendment in three days: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that if his Aam Aadmi Party is elected to power in Goa, it would reverse the controversial order, officially withdrawing tree status to the coconut palm within three days.

“I have told (AAP’s chief ministerial candidate) Elvis (Gomes) when the AAP government is formed, the law which changed the status of the coconut palm from tree to grass has to be reversed in three days,” he said at a public rally in South Goa’s Mormugao legislative assembly constituency.

In January last year, the Goa assembly had passed a controversial amendment to the Goa, Daman and Diu Protection of Trees Act, formally de-recognizing the coconut palm as a tree. It was formally accorded assent by Governor Mridula Sinha subsequently.

The amendment was severely critiqued by civil society groups and opposition in Goa