Full Bench Of Madras High Court Directs State To Find Out Best Practices For Removal Of Seemai Karuvelam Trees

In a batch of writ petitions seeking the eradication of invasive plant species 'Seemai Karuvelam' (Prosopis Juliflora) across Tamil Nadu, a full bench of Madras High Court has requested the government officials to do what is best for the people of Tamil Nadu, irrespective of what the industrial lobby wants.

The full bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari, Justice N. Sathish Kumar and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy also directed the State Government to determine the ill effects of the invasive species and take stock of the difficulties faced by other states on account of the same.

The bench has also added that the state government could take note of the measures taken by other state governments including Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh etc., and if they haven't, the TN government could take lead in the matter and find out the best practices.

The Additional Advocate General, on behalf of the state government, supplied Tamil Nadu Policy On Invasive Plant Species & Ecology Restoration to the judges at Madras High Court and iterated their intention to eradicate the plant species brought in by the Forest Department allegedly in the 1960s.

It was also submitted that the Central Government was not inclined to divert funds from MGNREGS Scheme for this purpose, however, the State will conduct the eradication drive at its on expenses.

The matter will next be heard on 16th March.

When the matter was taken up, the Additional Advocate General S. Silambanan submitted that a mechanism of pruning the trees and using them as firewood in dry areas could be adopted. He also iterated that many trees have been uprooted until now. 

The Principal Secretary of Environment & Forests, Supriya Sahu, informed the court that the species is used in many tea factories as firewood for generating heat. However, the Chief Justice was doubtful about using it as firewood and remarked that the environmental impact of burning the tree has not been clear.

The Secretary also referred to the two previous reports by two expert committees that recommended a step by step plan for uprooting the trees so that the livelihood of the people are not affected, along with ecological restoration.

One of the Chairmen of the Expert Committee also appeared before the court and submitted that the tree was introduced during former Chief Minister K. Kamaraj's tenure. He also made an observation that parts of the plant species is consumed by herbivores in forest and domestic animals in rural areas. However, the bench did not find the above submission quite convincing either and asked the Chairman if the ill effects of the species on animals when they come in contact with its thorns have been studied or not. The bench also rhetorically enquired the reason behind the state making a huge effort to uproot the trees by incurring a substantial expenditure if the said species was very useful to the people.

The Chairman clarified that overconsumption could lead to ill effects on the animals and further submitted that he will present the details regarding the same before the bench soon. The expert committee chairman also commented that the species has profuse seeding capacity which deters other plants in the dry areas from growing.

At this juncture, the bench observed that the two expert committee reports have been contradictory and the court does not intend to rely on them as such.

The Principal Secretary intervened and elaborated that in forests like Mudumalai and Anamalai, the plant species grows gregariously and prevents other plant species from coming up. According to the Secretary, the species also affects the biodiversity composition and impedes animals like elephants from freely roaming around in the forests.

The bench observed that the introduction of the invasive species in the state itself was the result of an initiative by the forest department to create an eyewash and project a narrative that the Department made the drylands green.

"It is a 'gift' given by the forest department", Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari remarked sarcastically.

According to the court, the forest department chose the species without assessing its environmental impact since the tree could easily grow in any terrain. The bench also opined that the said species that is omnipresent have been depleting the water levels and affecting the soil fertility since its introduction.

The bench also made a parallel to the sudden drive of planting Eucalyptus trees across the country which was later discarded as an unwise practice, detrimental to the environment.

"We are not realising the ill effects of certain plants or the topography/ terrain required for its growth. Every plant can be useful but it depends on the area where it is to be planted", the Chief Justice observed.

The bench wound up the case proceedings for today after asking the state government to make a study on the model practises followed by other Indian states in eradicating the species.Before parting, the Court remarked,

"The state shouldn't be driven by the interests of industrialists or a few villagers who use the tree as firewood. The industrial lobby may be powerful. But the government will have to do what is best for the people of the state of Tamil Nadu." 

On the previous occasion, Madras High Court directed the state government to immediately frame a policy/ action plan for the removal of Seemai Karuvelam trees while censuring the state government for dragging the matter for long by inviting various expert committee reports. The High Court had also given a suggestion that funds for the uprooting drive could be implemented through MGNREGA workers and the funds can also be taken from MGNREGA Scheme.

Case Title: V. Meghanathan v. Chief Secretary & Ors. & Connected Matters