The L. Gan Council has today invalidated all permits issued to remove coconut palms from the island.

Following the swearing-in of the new Gan Council, the Council's President, Afsal Jaufar, signed and released a letter today stating that a decision has been made to streamline the removal of coconut palms from the island and further strengthen the monitoring system for these activities.

Accordingly, the removal of coconut palms from the island has been temporarily halted starting today.

"Please be informed that all permits previously issued by this council to remove coconut palms from this island have been invalidated starting from the date this announcement is released," the announcement stated.

The announcement also noted that carrying out any further work to remove coconut palms from the island can only proceed after reclaiming permits in accordance with the new regulations to be formulated by the council for that purpose.

A large number of coconut palms exist in the area comprising Gan and its connected islands of Vilingili and Maandhoo.

Coconut palms are very frequently removed from Gan for commercial and other purposes. Furthermore, there is also concern among the island's residents regarding the loss of the island's greenery due to the removal of coconut palms and trees located on the island's state-owned lands.

A large number of coconut palms and trees are also taken from islands to landscape resorts. Concerns have grown that removing a large number of coconut palms and trees from islands in this manner causes environmental damage, negatively impacts the island's water table, and leads to issues such as beach erosion.