The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Botanical garden preliminary work

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Monday, Dec 15, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Botanical garden preliminary work

Vidya Venkat

— Photo: M.Vedhan

Preparatory: An earth-mover at work at the site of the proposed botanical garden on Cathedral Road on Saturday.

CHENNAI: Preliminary work such as levelling of earth and pruning of trees is on at the proposed site for a botanical garden in Cathedral Road, where the Woodlands Drive-in restaurant once existed.

On Sunday afternoon, earth movers engaged by the State agriculture department were seen clearing the site. An officer of the agriculture department present at the site informed that the work had started on Saturday.

A senior officer in the department of agriculture, said that some debris left behind by the earlier occupants, was cleared.

“We are not proceeding beyond this as there is a case in the Supreme Court,” he said.

In its interim order on a petition filed by V. Krishnamurthy of the Agriculture and Horticultural Society, the Supreme Court had restrained the Tamil Nadu government from altering in any manner the character of the land. However, it allowed the government to invite tenders for the proposed project.

The State government recently appointed a consultant for the design, development and supervision of a wow3rld class botanical garden and a horticulture research centre here.

The proposed project will have features such as shade house, bamboo garden, orchid house, Moghul garden, glass house, herbal garden, bonsai garden, and children play area, besides a green house for developing rare species of medicinal and non-medicinal plants and flowers.

The garden will serve as a lung space for the city and be developed on the lines of Lalbagh in Bangalore, according to official sources.

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