MUMBAI: State environment minister Pankaja Munde has come under sharp criticism after comparing the felling of trees, including mangroves, for infrastructure projects to the sacrifice of soldiers guarding the nation’s borders.
The controversy erupted after a video of her remarks at Mumbai Climate Week went viral on social media.
Speaking at an interaction during the event, Munde defended the rationale behind cutting trees for development projects.
“The way a mother raises her son and then has the courage to send him to the border to fight for the country, similarly, if we grow trees, we may have to cut them, but we can plant them somewhere else,” she said.
“You cannot say no to progress because we have to preserve trees,” the minister added, arguing that compensatory plantation was the way forward. “If we have to cut five trees for development, we can grow 10 more. That is the only way.”
Extending the analogy, Munde said trees, like soldiers, protect people while they are alive and continue to contribute even after being removed.
“Think of those trees as soldiers. Till the time they are living, they are protecting us and if they are taken off they are still working for development,” she said, describing the remarks as her “personal opinions”.
Her comments come amid ongoing debates over large-scale infrastructure projects in and around Mumbai, where environmentalists have raised concerns about mangrove destruction, ecological damage and the city’s climate resilience. The minister was responding to a question on whether the cutting of 45,675 mangroves was justified in Mumbai, considered among the Indian cities most vulnerable to sea level rise.
At the event, Munde also contrasted climate discussions with the hardships faced by armed forces personnel.
“We are sitting here in a five-star hotel talking about Mumbai Climate Week, having tea, coffee and cookies, but somebody is standing in the snow and the desert, playing with their lives for us,” she said. “They are sacrificing, so how are we thankful to them? That way, I treat those trees.”
The remarks triggered a backlash online, with critics calling the comparison insensitive and misplaced.
Permaculturist Pervin Sanghvi, who has been vocal against mangrove destruction for projects such as the coastal road, shared the video on X and wrote, “At the recently concluded Mumbai Climate Week, the minister of environment, Pankaja Munde, was asked if cutting 45,675 mangroves was justified in the city at highest risk of sea level rise in India. Please listen to her reply. Lack of knowledge is a dangerous thing. As is idiocy.”
Social activist Anjali Damania also criticised the minister’s comments on social media, writing, “One feels pity for their intelligence. She is Pankaja Munde, our environment minister.”