MDMK founder Vaiko, who had waged a lengthy legal battle to remove Seemai Karuvelam (Prosopis julifora), an invasive plant species from Tamil Nadu, on Friday welcomed the State issuing a Government Order approving a policy on ecological restoration of forest areas infested with the thorny trees.
"I welcome the decision taken by the government to clear out Seemai Karuvelam and the G.O. issued in this regard," Mr. Vaiko said in a statement. Listing out the continuous legal efforts taken by the MDMK in the fight against Seemai Karuvelam, the Rajya Sabha MP said those efforts have borne success.
During the hearing of a batch of pleas, Additional Advocate General J. Ravindran submitted a copy of the G.O. before a Full Bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justices N. Sathish Kumar and N. Mala.
The present policy would address the issue of highly invasive habitat degrading plant species in the forest areas of Tamil Nadu through removal as well as management simultaneously. To start with, principal focus would be laid upon developing/ elaborating strategies, methodologies and protocols for management of the most problematic weeds in forest areas, it added.
After taking the Government Order on file, the judges reserved their orders on a batch of cases including the one filed by Mr. Vaiko in 2015 for eradicating Seemai Karuvelam.
