PANAJI
Panaji’s green cover is under threat, with around 173 trees across the city marked for possible felling. This includes 63 heritage avenue trees on 18th June Road, triggering strong protests from citizens and environmental activists.
Concerns grew in late June when a large rain tree was cut along the footpath near Junta House, which is itself set for demolition and redevelopment. Residents fear this could be the start of widespread removal of old trees planted during the Portuguese era.
Green Goa Brigade convenor Avertino Miranda, in a letter to the City Corporation of Panaji (CCP), the Collector, and the Forest Department, accused officials of “clandestine cutting” of copper pod and other heritage trees. He said unscientific pruning and cutting without expert arborists amounts to environmental damage.
Miranda warned that damaged branches decay during monsoons, further weakening trees. He stressed that mature trees are vital for shade, oxygen, and biodiversity, and said their removal will worsen heat and air pollution in the city. The group has demanded an immediate halt to all tree cutting unless approved by qualified experts, failing which legal action will be taken.
Former Panaji mayor Surendra Furtado also criticised the exercise and called for a stop to all marking, pruning, and felling. He said 90-year-old trees planted in 1940 are being removed without transparency, public notice, or expert assessment.
Furtado has demanded details within seven days on who authorised the markings and why, along with an independent arborist audit of each tree and strict compliance with the Goa (Preservation of Trees) Act, 1984. He called the cutting of mature trees “ecocide” and an insult to citizens.
With neither the CCP nor the Forest Department taking clear responsibility, residents fear Panaji’s living heritage could soon be lost.
