What's causing tensions in North Goa? A banyan tree, a temple & a highway

Tensions erupted in North Goa as authorities dismantled a temple's boundary wall while relocating a 200-year-old banyan tree for NH-66 expansion, sparking protests and detentions

Tensions rose in Porvorim, North Goa, on Sunday after authorities partially dismantled a temple’s outer boundary wall while translocating a 200-year-old banyan tree.

 

Amid protests from local residents, police detained two individuals as a precautionary measure.

 

Last week, the High Court of Bombay at Goa granted permission to the Public Works Department (PWD) and its contractor to proceed with the tree’s relocation. The tree is being moved as it falls within the planned alignment of an ongoing six-lane elevated corridor project on National Highway 66.  

 

On Sunday, when PWD officials, accompanied by police personnel and an earthmover, arrived to carry out the translocation, several residents and activists protested, fearing damage to the temple and the removal of its idol.  

 

 

Although a section of the temple’s outer boundary was taken down, the process was later halted in the evening.  

 

A report by The Indian Express quoted an official as saying that concerns were raised about possible damage to the temple structure during the pruning of tree branches. Following discussions, it was decided to shift the idol to a different location, and before the idol was moved, prayers were conducted by temple priests and devotees. However, some locals opposed its relocation, leading to tension in the area. Two individuals were detained for obstructing police operations, the official added.  

 

Amid the ongoing standoff, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant assured that Dev Shri Khapreshwar temple “will be reconstructed by the Goa government at the new site of transplanted banyan tree.”

 

In December 2024, a group of environmentalists had appealed to the Union Ministry of Road, Transport, and Highways, urging modifications to the elevated corridor’s design to protect both the temple and the banyan tree. They highlighted that the tree and the Devasthan hold religious significance for many worshippers.  

 

While disposing of a petition related to the tree’s translocation, the High Court said that the procedure must adhere strictly to the methodology submitted to the Deputy Conservator of Forests. The petitioner had opposed the move, citing an ecological consultant’s report warning that the tree would suffer severe damage and may take decades to recover — if at all.  

 

Environmental activist Avertino Miranda, convener of the Goa Green Brigade, criticised the authorities for going beyond the court’s directive. The court ruling was solely about the banyan tree, yet officials proceeded with demolishing parts of the temple, which has heightened tensions and deeply hurt public sentiments, Miranda said, as quoted by the report.

 

Miranda expressed skepticism about the success of the translocation, saying that the tree was supposed to be relocated between March 5 and March 10. While we are not entirely against translocation, past records indicate that five previously translocated trees have not survived, Miranda said.

 

[With agency inputs]