தேயிலை பயிருக்கும், நீலகிரியின் இயற்கை மற்றும் சுற்றுச்சூழலுக்கும் பாதுகாப்பாக இருக்கும் ‘சில்வர் ஓக்’ மரங்களை வெட்டக்கூடாது #TANTEA...

DMK working president M.K. Stalin demanded an immediate ban on August 4, 2017, against cutting silver oak trees in plantations managed by the Tamil Nadu Tea Plantation Corporation. Stalin stressed that silver oak trees serve as a vital ecological shield for the Nilgiris biosphere, regulating microclimatic temperature, preventing soil erosion, and providing essential shade canopy for high-altitude tea cultivation. Indiscriminate tree-felling authorized by state authorities threatened irreversible devastation to the Western Ghats' delicate ecosystem.

Stalin highlighted that TANTEA was established during DMK governance under Kalaignar Karunanidhi primarily to rehabilitate repatriated Sri Lankan Tamils and promote sustainable hill agroforestry. Converting this social enterprise into a commercial timber-harvesting ground for political profiteering betrayed its foundational social vision. Decimating tree cover in hill slopes increased landslide vulnerabilities during torrential monsoon rains, jeopardizing plantation workers' settlements.

The DMK leader urged the state environment department and district administration to withdraw all felling permits immediately and implement strict biodiversity protection protocols. Stalin pledged that the DMK would firmly stand alongside plantation workers and environmentalists to safeguard the unique Nilgiris biosphere, preserve tea estates, and protect precious mountain environments for future generations.