Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar today accused some MLAs of raising the issue of reclassification of coconut tree in the Assembly only to "blackmail".
"Some people raise the issue on the floor of the House to blackmail others. They raise the issue so that they can extort money. These are the same people who are raking up certain issues on emotional level," Parsekar said, speaking before a gathering of BJP workers here.
The BJP-led state government's decision to reclassify coconut as a palm and not a tree has started a controversy, as it is being alleged that it would make it easier -- in terms of obtaining permissions -- to cut down the tree.
Justifying the amendment to 'Goa, Daman, Diu Preservation of Tree Act, 1983', Parrikar said, "No Goan will slaughter coconut trees even if given a blanket permission. I have seen people protecting coconut trees even at the cost of their homes. They would avoid cutting the coconut tree even if it is an obstacle in the construction of home."
But the trees which become economically unviable need to be felled so that they can be replaced with a better variety of coconut tree, he said.
Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister Francis D'Souza said some legislators from the real estate industry were creating the controversy and branding themselves as environment lovers.
"We have four to five legislators who are in the real estate industry. We need to see how much environmental degradation they have done through their projects," he said.
