Priyanka Singh
Published on: September 19, 2022 at 21:27 IST
The Madras High Court directed the State Government on Friday to instill more seriousness in removing invasive plant species from the forests.
The special bench of Justices N. Satish Kumar and D. Bharatha Chakravarthy noted the possibility of higher seriousness while hearing a cluster of cases regarding protection of the Western Ghats area.
The State had informed the Court about the files related to invasive plant species that were being under consideration and that, they had been sent to the Finance Department for concurrence.
To this information, the Court orally opined that, “If seriousness is not shown, entire forest will be gone. Invasive species affect the growth of ingenious species. We have also indicated in earlier of ingenious species.”
“We have also indicated in earlier orders that for removal of lantana and other invasive species, MNREGA funds could be used. Therefore, we are of the view, that there will not be any difficulty for removing lantana.”
The Court also noted the various companies, including the Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Paper Company, who had come forward to fund the removal of such species under their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Scheme.
Thus, the Court directed to pass the necessary orders and adjourned the case for the date of 11th October for filing report.