Remove invasive tree species in 13 districts: HC

Remove invasive tree species in 13 districts: HC

Collectors told to remove ‘seemai karuvelam’ by Jan. 10

The Madras High Court Bench here on Tuesday directed Collectors of all 13 districts under its jurisdiction to weed out ‘seemai karuvelam’ (prosopis juliflora) trees from water bodies, river courses and all other places.

The order was passed on a public interest litigation petition filed by Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Vaiko.



A Division Bench of Justices A. Selvam and P. Kalaiyarasan ordered that the trees be removed by January 10 and individual reports filed before the court on January 11.

The judges made it clear that the trees, harmful to the environment, should be removed with the assistance of the local bodies, Public Works Department and other government bodies.

In his petition pending since last year, Mr. Vaiko also sought a direction to officials to prevent the growth of the species, besides undertaking remedial measures to undo the damage caused by the trees. He claimed that the trees turn the land dry by sucking groundwater and poisoning it.

“The trees were first introduced in the country in 1960. They were brought from Africa to be used as fuelwood and now they have grown in huge numbers in the southern parts of the State. The trees destroy other plants and crops.

They are detrimental to agriculture and it has been scientifically proven that it turns the soil toxic and makes it unfit for cultivation,” he claimed.

Pointing out that the High Court Bench had already issued a direction to the State on January 9, 2014 to remove the ‘seemai karuvelam’ trees on a war footing, he said: “Even after the court direction, the authorities did not take any effective steps to remove the trees.”

*ALBATROSS*

HC orders removal of Karuvelam trees

HC orders removal of Karuvelam trees(Prosopis juliflora)

Madurai: The Madras High Court Bench here on Wednesday directed Madurai Corporation Commissioner, Public Works Department Chief Engineer and Conservator of Forests here to remove ‘karuvelam’ (prosopis juliflora) trees from both sides of the road between High Court Bench campus at Ulaganeri and District Court campus at K.K. Nagar here.

A Division Bench of Justices A. Selvam and P. Kalaiyarasan passed the interim order on a public interest litigation petition filed by former Mayor M. Patturajan seeking a direction to the three officials to curb the growth of ‘karuvelam’ trees across the city in order to save groundwater table depleting drastically due to deep penetration of their roots.

The judges ordered that a compliance report should be filed in the court by December 14. They made it clear to Corporation Commissioner Sandeep Nanduri, who had been summoned to the court, that prosopis juliflora that had grown on private lands should also be removed by issuing notices to the landowners.

They also said orders should be passed in a phased manner to remove ‘karuvelam’ trees from other places such as Vandiyur Kanmoi after the officials removed the trees from both sides of the road between High Court Bench and District Court.

In a communication sent by the Directorate of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj to all District Collectors on October 30, 2013, it was stated that ‘karuvelam’ trees were harmful to the ecology as they turned the land dry by sucking too much of groundwater besides poisoning the water.

“No other plant or shrub would grow next to karuvelam trees. The birds would also not build their nests on these trees because they let out very little amount of oxygen. The trees emit toxins in the atmosphere. Neither the seeds nor the leaves of these trees are useful for human life. Earth could be protected only if these trees are destroyed forever,” the communiqué read.
It also stated that cattle tied to the ‘karuvelam’ trees suffer from problems such as infertility and giving birth to offspring with physical deformities.

Further claiming that ‘karuvelam’ had been destroyed completely in Kerala, the communique said the tree found a place in the list of harmful trees maintained by the United States. It insisted that every citizen should fell at least one ‘karuvelam’ tree.