CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Tuesday warned the state government that it may have to initiate contempt proceedings against officials and summon them to court if they fail to take ‘concrete steps’ to eradicate Prosopis juliflora within a stipulated time.
A division bench of Justices N Sathish Kumar and D Bharatha Chakravarthy directed the government to clear the invasive weed from Raj Bhavan, IIT-Madras, the banks of the Cooum and Adyar rivers, and other areas in Chennai.
“You have two options: take action to uproot Prosopis juliflora and make the affected areas weed-free within a stipulated time, or face suo motu contempt proceedings,” the bench stated.
Granting a final four-week deadline, the court accepted the special government pleader’s request for time, as the chief secretary will chair a meeting on April 7. The state has removed 1,996.04 tonnes of the weed at a cost of Rs 237.71 crore.