Tamil Nadu to Plant 10 Saplings for Every Palmyra Tree Cut

Rapid Summary

• Tamil Nadu government has issued guidelines restricting the cutting down of palmyra, designated as Tamil Nadu’s State tree.
• Cutting down the palmyra tree is allowed only under unavoidable circumstances and requires prior permission through the ‘Uzhavan’ mobile app.
• Individuals/organizations seeking permission must plant at least 10 saplings for every tree cut and ensure officials are present during the process. tree transportation also requires approval from horticulture authorities.
• A regional monitoring committee headed by an Assistant Director of agriculture will verify applications and submit reports to a district-level committee led by the District Collector,whose decision is final within one month of submission.
• Officials will maintain a registry of palmyra trees and conduct awareness programs among farmers about their benefits during gram sabha meetings.
• As per official data (2019-2020),tamil Nadu houses approximately five crore palmyra trees out of 10 crore nationwide,supporting roughly three lakh farmers’ livelihoods through palm products exports contributing to state revenue.

Indian Opinion analysis

Tamil Nadu government’s stringent measures towards conserving its State tree-the palmyra-underscore both ecological preservation goals and socio-economic factors tied to rural livelihoods in agriculture-based communities. By mandating replanting efforts (10 saplings per felled tree) alongside strict verification processes, this policy emphasizes sustainable environmental management while recognizing palm-based export contributions to state revenue.

Such conservation policies could help prevent deforestation-induced challenges such as soil erosion or loss of biodiversity linked with excessive exploitation in industries like brick kilns-historically associated with palm wood usage until regulatory bans in december 2021 expanded protection laws systematically over years-long campaigns now aligning eco-kind practices besides socio-economic priorities crucially remaining non-intrusively balanced dialogues-neglect-feedback loops!

Read more: The Hindu Article