3 days ago
- General
- New Indian Express
Environmentalists upset after state highways plant trees in centre median of Dharmapuri-Harur Road
DHARMAPURI: Environmentalists in Dharmapuri have condemned the state highways department for planting tree saplings in the center median of the Dharmapuri-Harur Road. They argue the trees planted in the median are dying due to poor planning and, even if they survive, their roots will eventually damage the road.
Under the Chief Minister's Road Development Programme, the roads between Dharmapuri and Harur via Morappur (33.2 km) and the Harur-Tiruvannamalai road (15.1 km) were upgraded to four-lane roads. As part of this project, the roads were partitioned with a center median to ensure smooth traffic flow and prevent collisions.
However, the state highways department has planted trees such as Vembu, Pungan, tamarind, and other native species in the center median. This has angered environmentalists, who believe the trees will not survive due to poor planning and planting techniques.
Speaking to TNIE, M Umashanker, a member of the Dharmapuri Peoples Forum, said, "A neem tree is planted in a four-foot-wide center median. In a year, the roots of the tree could spread more than four or five meters. Won't the roads be damaged then? This road, constructed at a cost of Rs 410 crore, will be destroyed in a matter of years. It is a waste of resources and hard work. Moreover, hundreds of these trees are dying because the state highways department failed to undertake road milling prior to laying roads. How will they ensure saplings survive without any soil? This is pure negligence."
S Senthilkumar, another member, said, "The tree planting is a perfunctory procedure. No one truly monitors the planted trees. Near Solakottai school, neem trees planted two meters apart in the center median are already dead. Furthermore, the state highways staff have planted the Conocarpus plant, which has been banned in Tamil Nadu. If the state highways want to plant trees, they should do it at the edges of the roads where they have room to grow in the soil and ensure that the trees used are beneficial to the environment."
Despite multiple efforts, officials in the state highways department were not reachable for comment.
