Juliflora removal denuding IIT-Madras of other shrubs

CHENNAI: The city's second biggest green lung, the

IIT-M campus

, is fast losing its green cover. Indiscriminate clearing of trees under the pretext of felling the invasive Prosopis juliflora (`seemai karuvelan') is responsible for this.

A visit to the campus on Friday showed earthmovers, to gain access to wooded areas covered by prosopis, flattening smaller trees and shrubs. Soon, a large area was cleared and was dotted with patches of oil and bits of cleaning cloth that a few spotted deer were looking to feed on.

Environment Monitoring and Action Initiating (

EMAI

) founder T Murugavel said ac tivists had no objection to the invasive species being removed, but said it could be done manually instead of using earthmovers. Besides, the clearing need not be done in a single phase as the campus was not

agricultural land

, he said.

In the adjacent

Guindy National Park

(GNP), the invasive karuvelan is a boon to animals such as spotted deer, mongoose and jackals which rest under its shade. Removing the species entirely could increase readiation in the enrire area and affect mammals in peak summer, said Murugavel. After removing the karuvelan, the IIT-M management should plant saplings of local species to help mammals and ground nesting birds, he said.

A campus resident, on condition of anonymity , said the clearing had begun on Monday , forcing many reptiles, including snakes, to look for alternative places. “The IIT-M administration is doing irreparable damage to the environment on the campus,“ he charged.

When contacted,

IIT-M director Baskar Ramamurthy

said they were clearing the prosopis trees as per a court direction. On the campus, some trees of the species were nearly 30 years old and had to be uprooted using earthmovers that would affect undergrowth, he said. “Otherwise, no other tree is cut while clearing the prosopis,“ he said.