Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin laid the foundation stone for the Semmozhi Poonga project in Coimbatore on Monday, December 18, 2023. The park, which is set to be constructed at the Gandhipuram Prison grounds, will sit atop 165 acres of land and is estimated to cost ₹172.21 crore.
The idea of the park was first proposed during the World Tamil Literature Conference in 2010 by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. The park aims to showcase the richness of India’s flora, encourage sustainable plant use and contribute to the conservation of rare plant species in the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve. This park will be the first of its kind in a tropical country like India, Mr. Stalin said.
“The park will be developed in two phases, with the first 45 acres dedicated to creating awareness about nature conservation, providing educational opportunities for students, and conducting research on environmental management. The remaining 120 acres will be developed in the second phase,” the Chief Minister said on Monday.
The park will also house a museum, an open-air theatre, a nature-themed restaurant, and a conference center equipped with modern facilities.
Also, speaking about the Makkaludan Mudhalvar initiative (a State-level initiative envisaging solutions through government departments to public grievance petitions within 30 days), the Chief Minister said, “With this scheme, it is guaranteed that peoples’ grievances will be addressed within 30 days. This way, they will be able to avail of welfare schemes will ease.”
During the ceremony, Mr. Stalin also presented welfare assistance worth ₹110.51 crores to 7945 beneficiaries across various departments. The assistance covers a range of schemes, including free housing, old age pension, road accident relief and more.
State Minister of Housing and Urban Development, S. Muthuswamy, Members of Parliament P. R. Natarajan and K. Shanmugasundaram, Member of Legislative Assembly Vanathi Srinivasan, District Collector Kranthi Kumar Pati, Coimbatore Mayor Kalpana Anandakumar and Corporation Commissioner M. Sivaguru Prabhakaran also participated.
