The State government on Wednesday asserted before the Madras High Court it was committed to eradicating Seemai Karuvelam (prosopis juliflora), an invasive and exotic species, from the State due to its ill effects.
Appearing before the first Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy, Additional Advocate General S. Silambanan said, an elaborate plan would be devised soon.
The judges asked the AAG as well as Environment Secretary Supriya Sahu, who was present in the court, to study how other States in the country were dealing with invasive species and adopt the best practices followed over there.
When the Chief Justice wanted to know when and why was the exotic species introduced in Tamil Nadu, he was told it had happened during former Chief Minister K. Kamaraj’s rule to help dry fallow lands in the State turn green.
Ms. Sahu told the Bench that Seemai Karuvelam grows eggregiously in the forest areas and prevents the growth of other species. She also pointed out it hampers movement of wild animals like elephants in the forests.
Further, stating that some industries use Seemai Karuvelam as firewood, the Secretary said, since the livelihood of many people was dependent on these trees, the invasive species would have to be dealt with in a phased manner.
However, the Chief Justice said he was aware of the invasive species being used as firewood in the industries and warned officials against succumbing to industrial lobby. He said, the primary concern must be to protect the environment.