Minister for Agriculture Veerapandi S. Arumugam on Tuesday laid the foundation stone for the ‘Eco Park,' coming-up at the Government Horticulture Farm near the Five Falls at Courtallam on an outlay of Rs.5.92 crore.
The upcoming attraction would have eco pond, bamboo garden, butterfly and flowers' park, children's play area, waterfalls, water games, stream, adventure sport zone, rock garden, aromatic park, sculpture garden, fern park, fruit garden, green house, cafeteria etc.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Arumugam said the ‘Eco Park' was being established at Courtallam as the climatic condition and the environment were so conducive throughout the year for creating such a park.
ADVERTISEMENT
He appealed to the public, particularly the tourists visiting Courtallam to conserve the environment of the place by avoiding non-recyclable plastic products.
Though the officials had planned to complete the work on this project within the next seven or eight months, the Minister had asked them to ensure the inauguration before six months.
When Mr. Arumugam asked MPs P. Lingam and S. Thangavel to allot more funds for adding some more facilities for the visitors, they came forward to allot Rs. 10 lakh each from the constituency and local area development funds.
ADVERTISEMENT
Revenue Minister I. Periyasamy, who laid the foundation stone for adding more amenities to Bryant Park in Kodaikanal at a cost of Rs. 1.58 crore, said the State Government had given free house site pattas to over 7.50 lakh beneficiaries.
Minister for Environment, Youth Welfare and Sports T.P.M. Mohideen Khan, MPs P. Lingam and S. Thangavel, P. Rama Mohana Rao, Secretary, Department of Agriculture, B. Chandramohan, Director, Department of Horticulture, District Collector M. Jayaraman, Atul Anand, Commissioner, Agricultural Marketing, C. Kosalaraman, Commissioner, Department of Agriculture, MLAs M. Appavu and V. Karuppasamy Pandian spoke.