The Tamil Nadu government is planning to implement a special scheme to remove karuvelam trees from the banks of water bodies across the State, Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan informed the Legislative Assembly on Saturday.
Responding to concerns raised by Congress legislator R.M. Karumanickam (Tiruvadanai) in the House, Mr. Duraimurugan said he was planning to bring about a scheme to tackle the menace so that local bodies would benefit from removing and selling karuvelam trees along water bodies.
Mr. Duraimurugan concurred with the contention of Mr. Karumanickam that karuvelam trees along water bodies were affecting farmers and the water surrounding the trees also affected crops in the area. “When submerged in water, farmers are affected as they walk over their [trees’] thorns,” he pointed out.
The Minister also recalled that he had always been against those trees when they were cultivated in large numbers intended to produce firewood. Mr. Duraimurugan appreciated the Congress MLA, who has taken after his grandfather and father to be elected to the House.
