Madras high court declares war against invasive species seemai karuvelam

CHENNAI: Madras high court on Wednesday ordered project ‘Sezhumai Karuvoolam’ (fertile repository) to eradicate invasive species seemai karuvelam (Prosopis juliflora) from Tamil Nadu and has appointed two former judges of the court -- Justice A Selvam and Justice V Bharathidasan -- as a special committee to supervise the actions taken for the eradication.

While removal of the species from public land will be undertaken by the state, the court has directed “private landowners to uproot and remove the species from their respective land within 30 days from the date of this order.”

“Failing which, the BDO shall inspect and uproot the trees from private land and leave them at the disposal of the private owners. The cost of uprooting the species will be recovered at the rate of Rs 5,000 per acre if the vegetation is dense and mature, and at Rs 2,000 per acre if it is less,” the court said.

Identification and auctioning shall be completed across the district within four months, and removal shall be finished within another six months. As far as possible, the activity shall be carried out like combing operations declaring the villages to firkas to taluks and finally the districts being Prosophis juliflora free, the court added.

A special bench of Justice N Sathish Kumar and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy passed the order on a batch of pleas including one moved by MDMK leader Vaiko for complete eradication of the invasive species from Tamil Nadu.

The invasive species in all its forms -- whether trees, plants, or roots -- shall be mechanically uprooted, removed and disposed of from its location. Wherever possible, native species shall be planted, cared for, and grown, the bench said.

In exceptional areas like Vedanthangal, where the species serves as nesting sites for birds, removal shall be carried out in a phased manner with simultaneous alternative arrangements, such as planting of other species, the court said.

“The district collectors shall be the central authority responsible for removing Prosopis juliflora and preventing its further growth by mechanically removing existing trees and plants on both private and public lands, and for planting native species on all public lands within their districts,” the court said.

The court also directed the state environment secretary to create a webpage on their website or an exclusive webpage for the project and maintain a dashboard with all details that the collectors may provide from time to time. It shall periodically upload information on removal, the auction, the quantity removed, the number of saplings replanted, and the areas declared Proposis juliflora-free.

The secretary shall maintain an exclusive mobile phone number for the project which shall be used to link in all social media platforms. Any person may post a picture of seemai karuvalem geotagging or by providing additional details of the location, and it shall be duly brought to the notice of the appropriate collector, the court added.