Andhra bans Conocarpus trees citing adverse impact on environment and health, activists challenge govt move

The latest decision of the Andhra Pradesh government to ban Conocarpus trees, a widely grown exotic avenue plantation, because of their possible adverse effect on the environment and human health, has been caught in a legal wrangle. However, the Andhra government’s decision was challenged in the state high court on August 24 by social activist Vallamreddy Laxman Reddy, who heads an NGO, “Jana Chaitanya Vedika”, and two botanical scientists — K Bayyapu Reddy, a retired botany and environmental professor of Acharya Nagarjuna University, and Attipalli Ramachandra Reddy, a professor of plant sciences of the University of Hyderabad. They argued that the adverse impact of Conocarpus trees to the environment and humans has not been scientifically proven yet and the government should stop felling of such trees. A senior official of the environment and forest department requesting anonymity said that environmental groups and social activists have reported the adverse effects of Conocarpus trees, following which the present government has decided to stop their growth and destroy the existing plantations.