Six crore palmyra seeds to be planted across the State, says Minister

Minister for Housing, Prohibition and Excise S. Muthusamy inaugurated the bamboo awareness and green initiative conference at the Collectorate here on Thursday (October 23, 2025).

Speaking at the event, the Minister said that Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has launched a major initiative to transform Tamil Nadu into a green State by planting six crore palmyra seeds across the State. As part of the programme, 11.25 lakh seeds are being planted in Erode district. He said palmyra trees help strengthen banks of the waterbodies and prevent soil erosion and the ongoing plantation would turn water-rich regions into lush green areas.

Highlighting the benefits of Beema thornless bamboo, the Minister said the crop, developed through tissue culture technology, has been promoted for the past 25 years for both domestic use and export. Once planted, the bamboo can be harvested multiple times and provides a steady annual income of ₹1 lakh per acre with minimal maintenance. Unlike sugarcane or banana, it withstands natural calamities and yields for over 100 years, he said. Earlier, he inspected bamboo-based products and interacted with farmers.

Collector S. Kandasamy, MP K.E. Prakash, MLA V.C. Chandrakumar, District Revenue Officer S. Santhakumar, District Forest Officer (Erode Division) Kumili Venkata Appala Naidu, Project Director of DRDA Priya and senior officials attended the event.