Come up with plan to eradicate ‘karuvelam’ trees, HC tells TN govt

A full bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari, Justice N Sathish Kumar and Justice PD Audikesavalu granted the injunction on hearing a batch of writ petitions seeking direction for the removal of the Seemai Karuvelam trees and saplings in the State.

“The State government should come up with a policy or a scheme to devise the mechanism to remove the Prosopis juliflora across the state. The court is suggesting the government make use of the MGNREGS funds to eradicate the Prosopis Juliflora trees. If the State has any other sources for funds, it also can be utilised,” the full bench held. Our State should be the first one in bringing the policy to eradicate the invasive species and it should guide other states in the country on this matter,” the ACJ orally observed.

The court has come down heavily on the State for not taking any action to remove the karuvelam trees despite its order on July 28, 2017.

“Though it is more than 4.5 years since the order was passed, there is no progress. After getting suggestions from the National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad as well as the National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), the government has not done anything to remove them, ” the bench observed.

The ACJ also made an oral observation that he had witnessed several Seemai Karuvelam trees while travelling from Rameswaram to Madurai.

The bench pointed out that a district-level scheme also shall be formed under the supervision of the district collectors to remove karuvelam trees.

The Additional Advocate General is again saying that the government has to get a recommendation from the expert committee.

“We cannot allow the government every time to seek the report from one committee to another,” the ACJ observed. The bench also stated that karuvelam trees are not only affecting the ecology but also affecting fertility and groundwater. “The act of eradicating them does not mean just felling them. The government should take steps to eradicate them by destroying their roots,” the ACJ noted.