Will inspect actions taken by TN govt to remove Seemai karuvelam: MHC judges

CHENNAI: Justice N Satish Kumar and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy have observed that they are planning to inspect the actions taken to remove the Seemai karuvelam, an exotic weed.

The special bench of the Madras High Court (MHC) comprising Justice N Satish Kumar and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy refused the State's submission of a status report about the actions taken to remove the invasive weed.

The bench observed that the sporadic removal of Seemai Karuvelam is not going to help the complete removal of the exotic weed.

The bench also observed that the action taken by the government is not adequate and they are planning to inspect the actions taken by the State.

In a similar case before the same bench to remove the Senna Spectabilis, an invasive plant species, the Additional Advocate General (AAG) J Ravindran sought time to prepare the standing operative procedure (SOP) for the removal of Senna Spectabilis. However, the petitioners objected to the submission and submitted that an expert committee constituted by the court had already submitted a report on the removal of invasive species. However, AAG said that the State will go independent in finalising the SOP and file the report within two months.

After the submission, the bench directed the State to instruct all the district collectors to issue a public notice to remove the invasive plant species from the private lands and posted the matter to November 8 for further hearing.