Perupalem villagers in Andhra Pradesh object to felling of trees for development projects

Villagers of Perupalem of Moghalthuru mandal in West Godavari district have expressed serious concern over destruction of coconut trees and casuarina plantations on over 25 acres.  

A. Srinivasa Rao, a villager, said nearly 100 police personnel, along with district authorities, descended on the coastal village in the early morning of September 19 (Tuesday) and began clearing the plantations. Mr. Srinivasa Rao said over 150 coconut trees and around 2,000 casuarina plants were uprooted for the tourism projects.

The villagers, who have been cultivating the land for nearly a century now, say they will have nowhere else to go if they are stripped of their livelihood. 

Not entirely denying that they have uprooted trees and plantations, Mandal Revenue Officer Anitha Kumari said the Perupalem beach is likely to get Blue Flag certification and that officials will be inspecting the beach on Wednesday. “The land does not belong to the villagers. Only a few trees, which were in the nascent stage of development, were removed. We have to hand over the land to the Tourism department officials,” Ms. Kumari added. 

Human Rights Forum State secretary Gutta Rohith says there are two cases pending in the High Court against destruction of crops. “One was against forcible displacement of people from the land that they have been cultivating for years. The High Court issued a stay order on the destruction of crops,” Mr. Rohith said.

Moreover, the land where the tourism projects are coming up fall within the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) limits, he said. “As per the CRZ definition, the village falls under the category of CRZ III (B) where no development can take place within the area of up to 200 metres from the High Tidal Line.

Environmentalists have time and again pointed out how any construction in the ‘No Development Zone’ can change the coastal current pattern and eventually lead to soil erosion and subsidence,” Mr. Rohith said, adding that hundreds of families are dependent on growing coconut trees on the land. 

Already, from 2016 to 2023, over 1,500 coconut trees have been uprooted for various infrastructure projects, he said, adding that the government neither cares about the marginalised farmers nor about environment.