'Tree Park' near Chennai with 300 plant varieties to come up

The Tamil Nadu government today proposed setting up a 'Tree Park' near here at a cost of Rs two crore where about 300 varieties of plants will be reared.
The move is part of the state government's efforts to save about 230 types of plants, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa informed the state Assembly.
Making a suo motu statement in the House, she said the proposed park would come up along Vandalur-Kelambakkam stretch and the effort was to ensure protection of forest genetic resources.
The initiative would be implemented by the Forest Research Division, where the plant varieties found in Eastern and Western ghats would be reared, Jayalalithaa said, adding, the park would also be a 'haven' for experts in this field.

Jayalalithaa also announced setting up a Seed Centre in Tiruchirappalli to address to the needs of the state's Central and delta areas.
It would have modern facilities for collection, research, storage and distribution of quality seeds, which would, among others, cater to the needs of agricultural and industrial sectors in the supply of medicinal plants, she said.
Jayalalithaa announced installation of special cameras in 20 dwelling locations of animals in the nearby popular Arignar Anna Zoological Park to enable round-the-clock online broadcast.
This would help people in far off locations watch the animals online as well as allow officials monitor them, she said and proposed an allocation of Rs 50 lakh for this purpose.