Park to conserve rare native flora species to come up near Chengam

The defunct Central-State seed farm at Melchengam town in Tiruvannamalai will get a new lease of life as Forest Department plans an exclusive park to conserve rare native flora species in a portion of the farm to protect environment and boost local tourism activities.

This was announced by Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu while presenting the budget for 2025-26 in the State Legislative Assembly on Friday. As per announcement, the park will be set up on a 1,000 hectares forest land at Melchengam town that comes under Chengam panchayat union in Tiruvannamalai district.
 
The park will be coming up at a cost of Rs 10 crore. “Currently, the seed farm has been used by Tamil Nadu Forest Plantation Corporation Limited (TAFCORN) to grow trees like eucalyptus, which can withstand dry conditions, for commercial purposes as part of revenue generation. The proposed park will help to protect the environment and also educate youngsters on it,” S. Raghupathy, forest range officer (Chengam), told The Hindu.
 
Spread over 11,500 hectares, forest officials said, the seed farm was set up by State Farms Corporation of India Ltd, a Union Government undertaking, in 1972 in Melchengam to produce and supply quality seeds of various crops to the farmers of Tamil Nadu, neighbouring States and other needy States.

High breed millet saplings and hybrid varieties of sapota, guava, mango and lemon saplings were cultivated. The farm, run by the Department of Horticulture, is also known for its tomatoes, brinjal, fenugreek (Venthaiyam), chilly and watermelon seedlings.

Seeds of these saplings were sold to the Tamil Nadu government, who in turn sold them to local farmers at 50 % subsidy to promote farming in the region. “The seed farm was running successfully as farmers got top quality and high yield seeds at cheap rates. The saplings were known for its long shelf life and anti-pest varieties,” said M. Kannan, retired Assistant Director (AD), Department of Horticulture (Tiruvannamalai). 
 
Over the years, the seed farm faced funds crunch, resulting in its closure in 2002. Since then, the farm has been used by TAFCORN to grow native species for wood pulp for commercial sale. Forest officials said that the proposed park for native flora species will help to conserve seeds of rare native plants including those used in agriculture. 

At present, Department of Horticulture runs government seed farms each in Pudurchekkadi village (Tiruvannamalai), Nowlock (Ranipet), Kudappattu and Thagarakuppam villages in Tirupattur to provide quality seeds to farmers after the closure of Central-State seed farm.