MLAs flay Forest dept for planting nilgiri, acacia

Cutting across party lines, legislators flayed forest department for planting eucalyptus (nilgiri) and acacia sapli- ngs as part of its roadside plantation and afforestation programmes, in the Assembly on Wednesday.

Participating in a debate on grants under the forest department, senior Congress MLA K R Ramesh Kumar said that these two species of trees had become a bane. “Who gives them an advice like this? These trees don’t bear flowers or fruits. Such trees are of no use for birds and animals. I don’t understand why the forest department hates birds and animals?” he said.

The erstwhile maharaja of Mysore had made it mandatory that only fruit-bearing saplings should be planted on the roadside. It was an indirect way of protecting the ecology. The department has discontinued this and instead is planting useless and harmful plant species. As a result of this many species of birds have gone extinct. Moreover, roadside trees have been chopped in most places in the name of road widening. Steps have not been taken to plant saplings again, he added.

Kumar said that the government should take up a mass movement involving all the elected representatives, students and non-government organisations to eradicate acacia and eucalyptus trees in the State.

Melkote MLA K S Puttannaiah said that the eucalyptus trees suck up underground water rendering the land around it barren. Large tracts of agriculture land have become useless due to cultivation of these trees in the State. The government should take up a drive for cutting them down, he added.

Another issue that was referred to by many of the members was ineffective afforestation programme. The government, a few years ago started an afforestation programme after availing a loan of Rs 745 crore from a Japanese funding agency. But not a single tree has been planted to increase the forest cover in the State, he added. Puttannaiah even doubted the Forest department’s claim that the State has 22 per cent forest area. There cannot be more than 10 per cent of forest area as afforestation programmes have been a failure, he added.

D N Jeevraj of BJP said the forest department officials had been harassing tribals and people living on the edges of forest areas in the name of protection. A large number of villages have been declared as deemed forests. So much so that the land on which mini vidhana soudha was constructed recently at NR Pura in Chikmagalur district had been declared deemed forest area.

The department should understand that human beings are also part of the ecology, he added.