The unprecedented draught in Tamil Nadu which has resulted in severe shortage of drinking water for humans and animals have persuaded two district level judges to set new trends to ensure the safety of the ecology as well as addressing shortage of drinking water haunting the society.
Principal District and Sessions Judge AKA Rahmaan, Ariyalur, while disposing a plea for anticipatory bail filed by K Rajendran, accused of abusing and assaulting a woman, set a novel condition for bail.
Judge Rahmaan asked the petitioner to execute a bond for Rs10,000 along with two sureties each for the like sum to the satisfaction of the judicial magistrate. He also asked the applicant to remove 100 ‘seemai karuvelam’ (Prosopis Juliflora) trees within 20 days in his village and shall obtain a certificate from the village administrative officer towards compliance and file the same before the court on the 21st day from the date of his release on bail. “If the applicant fails to submit such a certificate the anticipatory bail granted to him shall be cancelled under due process of law,” said Judge Rahmaan.
Seemai Karuveli trees have emerged as a major problem in most of the districts in Tamil Nadu posing severe environmental and ecological issues. This invasive species was introduced in Tamil Nadu as fuel wood in the 1960s.
Though the scientific community had warned that Seemai Karuvelam was a weed and it would suck the entire groundwater and contaminate the groundwater table, it fell on deaf ears. One of the reasons for the draught in Tamil Nadu is the thick growth of Seemai Karuvelam.
Following the failure of the authorities to get rid of this invasive trees, the Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) in December 2016 had ordered the complete removal of seemai karuvelam from all the 13 districts which come under the jurisdiction of the Bench. Judge Rahmaan has warned Rajendran against diluting the court directive by getting rid of small plants. The applicant has to cut down well grown 100 trees and he has to submit the pictures of the trees cut down by him.
Mettupalayam Judicial Magistrate Suresh Kumar has offered a unique conditional bail to a man arrested on charges of dealing in the sale of deer meat. Selvaraj, who was arrested on February 20 for possessing deer meat was told by the magistrate on Thursday to fill the artificial water holes located inside the reserve forest in Mettupalayam for 30 days so that wild animals could quench their thirst. The accused Selvaraj would be granted bail once the forest range officer submits the report stating that he has filled water holes for 30 days.