Dravidian University in Kuppam faces backlash for selling trees, sparking environmental concerns
Srinivasavanam project
The campus is known for its lush greenery and panoramic view of hillocks surrounded by dense woods. The Srinivasavanam project, a unique initiative sponsored by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), is credited with the success of the greenery story on the campus for more than a decade. The green and healthy trees are now being chopped down and disposed to private parties at cheaper rates ₹3,000 per tonne, as against ₹5,000 per tonne five years ago. Since April, the drive is said to have generated a revenue of ₹7 lakh this way.
A senior official of the university defended the move, saying that a severe financial crunch along with poor financial support from the governments of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala prompted the university administration to resort to felling of trees, at least to generate minimum funds. The official maintained that funds meant for the maintenance of greenery on the campus, ₹50 lakh per annum from the TTD, are now being used to meet the escalating electricity bills. On the flip side, the university officials are said to have used a partial amount from the proceeds of tree felling to purchase two vehicles to manage campus upkeep.
Nature lovers cry foul
Nature lovers and local youth of Kuppam, who are accustomed to frequenting the panoramic landscapes in and around the university, deplored that the felling of healthy trees is a brazen act of ecological rupture. A revenue official in Kuppam said that though efforts were made to dissuade the university management from stopping the felling of trees, no concrete measures have been initiated to stop the destruction.
A couple of NGOs in Chittoor district said that they would take the issue to the notice of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who has been the MLA of Kuppam since 1989, and demand a high-level inquiry into the environmental damage on the university campus.
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