The protest, by environmentalists, against the planting of Malabar neem appears to misplaced and not based on scientific data (Kerala, “Planting of monocrop resented”, July 17). Melia dubia is an endemic tree species in the Western Ghats. It is not an exotic species. Hence its cultivation will be environment-friendly and not affect bio-diversity. The fast growing nature of the species was noticed for the first time by Dr. A.G. Kumaravelu, who was also responsible for highlighting its potential as a plantation level tree. One of the major observations his team made was that the tree consumes less water when compared to other plantation species (eucalyptus, acacia). One also has to look at it in terms of developing agroforestry and wood-based industry.
E. Sreenivasan,
Karanthat, Kannur, Kerala
