THENI: Deadline for removal of ‘seemai karuvalam’ (prosopis juliflora) trees that had spread in many places, especially in and around waterbodies, in the district was January 5, 2017, and all local bodies and line departments should work on a war footing to complete the work, said Collector N. Venkatachalam.
Addressing a meeting with officials held in this connection here on Thursday, he said the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court had issued an order directing 13 district administrations to remove the trees in their respective areas.
Officials of the line departments, especially the departments of public works, local administration and highways, should join hands with revenue officials to complete the task.
Karuvelam trees should be removed from tanks, ponds, check dams, irrigation tanks, supply channels, lakes and along main roads and rural roads, poromboke and private lands in 130 village panchayats, six municipalities and 22 town panchayats, he said.
Action taken report, along with photographs, should be submitted to the Collector by January 5. Private landowners could be motivated to remove the trees from their land on their own, failing which local bodies should take up the work, he said.
Bodi Municipality had decided to serve notices to private land promoters to remove karuvelam trees from their plots on their own. It constituted a committee to conduct surveys and chalk out plans to remove the invasive trees. Other municipalities followed the example, he said.
When the officials expressed concern over shortage of man power and equipment to remove the trees in a short notice, the Collector advised them to use all resources and man power to complete the work.
Already, the PWD had informed the High Court Bench that it would require Rs. 809.46 crore to remove seemai karuvelam trees from 2.08 lakh hectares of land in the southern districts. The department made the submission in its reply to a public interest litigation petition filed by Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Vaiko seeking a direction to the State Government and Collectors to remove seemai karuvelam trees.
