Chennai: In the backdrop of Tamil Nadu fighting for its riparian rights over the Cauvery river and rivulets running dry after the monsoon, the state government is keen on improving the catchment areas of the perennial Tamirabharani river, endemic to southern Tamil Nadu.
The forest department is now working overtime, identifying estate areas rented out to private companies and is planning a massive restoration of forests by clearing the estates, so that the lifeline of streams mushrooming from the tiger reserves are enhanced, forest official sources said.
“All tea estate areas located inside reserve forests and leased out to private companies are under the scanner. To implement the national forest policy which advises 33 per cent of forest cover, these leased out lands are essential and we are taking all steps to restore our original shola forests,” principal chief conservator of forests N. Krishnakumar told DC.
According to informed sources within the forest department, foresters have been instructed to support the state legal cell and help in retrieving the forests.
“A couple of litigations related to our catchment areas are now attended to and about 8,373 acres of forest land leased out to Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation is one such case in the Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve we are fighting,” a top official said adding that there are similar cases pending before the Madras high court running for decades.
“We are now equipped with scientific data and research works endemic to TN forests. A recent study by district forest officer N. Venkatesh on the state of forests and their rivulets have proved that upon restoring shoals, the lifeline of streams have improved in areas like Kalakad and Kodaikanal. We want to replicate this in other protected areas,” said a forest official who is part of the estate assessment and forest restoration drive.
