In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister in response to the latter's request to non-governmental organisations to give their suggestions on framing a Green Policy for Tamil Nadu, Ms. Jamuna Thiagarajan said that innovation, resurrection and sustenance are the three watch words of the second international meeting on CSR held in July 2010. “Corporates in Tamil Nadu can make a useful contribution to mitigate the problems of environment and help conservation of natural resources.

A call from the Chief Minister, I am sure, will invigorate great action on their part. In this connection, I would like to point out the achievement of `Siruthuli Iyakkam' of Coimbatore as an example. This movement not only cleared the Noyyal River but also renovated nine big lakes around the city which has increased the groundwater level”, she said.

The president of the association said that care for Mother Earth and ethics of sustainable living need to be given a wide propaganda by the State with great planning so that it creates a deep impact on the minds of the people of the state. Hence, people's participation can be invoked. Exhibitions, lectures, essay competitions, and features in electronic and print media will create a deep awareness among our children and women, she said.

Ms. Thiagarajan called upon the Chief Minister to follow the example of Andhra Pradesh in enforcing a ban on the use of plastic bags.

Andhra Pradesh has succeeded in imposing a ban on plastic bags, as a result of which the rural and urban areas of Andhra Pradesh appear free from plastic garbage which hampered garbage disposal in the rural and urban areas. “Mountainous plastic garbage are not only an eye sore but this causes a health hazard”, she said.

The NGO president wanted the Tamil Nadu government to introduce proper guidelines and regulations governing the development of real estate in villages to prevent the destruction of paddy fields and coconut groves by the real estate agencies which go in for unauthorised development of real estate in the villages by tempting the land owners with high prices.

The association also called for the renovation of water bodies like irrigation lakes and tanks which played a crucial role in food security from times immemorial by functioning as natural recharging agents against groundwater depletion and helping in minimising the ill-effects of climate change. “Traditional water resources management did help the conservation of the lakes so far. But of late the lakes are disappearing or decaying as they are neglected. It is high time these water bodies are renovated in order to contribute to the environmental upkeep of our state”, she said. Ms. Thiagarajan pleaded for the constitution of an expert team comprising environmentalists, hydrologists, agricultural scientists and economists to make an assessment of the damages caused by tannery effluents to the groundwater of Palar over the years.

Tannery effluents let into the Palar for the past four decades have been greatly responsible for the ecological crisis of Vellore district. “In spite of the Supreme Court verdict of 1996, pollution by tannery effluents continues unabated in the Palar River which is the lifeline of northern Tamil Nadu. Palar River has ceased to provide even drinking water to nearly one crore people of the Palar basin including south Chennai.

“The Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board has been forced to explore alternative water sources for providing drinking water in this district”, she said.