During his tenure as MLA from Kodungallur, T. N. Prathapan introduced a landmark private resolution in the Kerala Legislative Assembly calling for the urgent adoption of Green Politics in the state. The resolution proposed a constructive political framework centered on five key pillars, placing environmental protection at its core.

At a time when profit-driven development often ignored ecological concerns, Prathapan strongly criticized large-scale encroachments across hill regions, riverbanks, backwaters, and coastal belts. He warned that unchecked exploitation of nature threatened both livelihoods and future generations. Green Politics, he argued, must also resist the dangerous trend of dividing society along religious lines.

His third major emphasis was people’s resistance against corruption and nepotism. The fourth agenda called for social awakening to counter rising violence in homes, campuses, and political spaces. The fifth and most urgent pillar was a strong stand against alcoholism and drug abuse, urging governments and civil society to intensify preventive and rehabilitative efforts.

Though Green Politics was new to Kerala, it was already a recognized progressive movement globally. Prathapan believed that an educated and socially aware society like Kerala would embrace such a vision. The Speaker G. Karthikeyan openly appreciated the initiative. K. M. Mani humorously remarked that such ideas belonged to the Kerala Congress and invited Prathapan to join them. Prathapan replied firmly that the Indian National Congress already embodied such values and that he would remain within the party.

Despite limited support initially, several MLAs rallied behind him, especially after controversies erupted over land encroachments in Nelliyampathy. Prathapan faced severe criticism including casteist remarks from Chief Whip P. C. George for exposing illegal land issues. The backlash triggered political uproar, and leaders like V. D. Satheesan and Hibi Eden publicly defended Prathapan. Other young legislators soon joined what came to be known as the “Green MLAs.”

Ignoring pressure to withdraw, Prathapan and fellow legislators visited Nelliyampathy to directly assess encroachments, transforming Green MLAs into a visible reformist bloc within the ruling alliance. The issue soon became a major statewide controversy. Later, Prathapan and Satheesan symbolically reclaimed illegally converted paddy fields in Kodungallur and Paravur by cultivating them, openly challenging powerful interests, even in the face of internal political resistance.

Prathapan’s environmental activism includes campaigns with poet Sugathakumari to protect sacred groves, protests with Medha Patkar against illegal sand mining in Neyyar, awareness programmes for students and MP’s Haritham initiative promoting home vegetable gardens during the pandemic.

As a Member of Parliament, he introduced a private bill proposing that a sapling be planted for every newborn, with government land allotted where necessary linking birth registration to environmental responsibility. His efforts earned national recognition, leading to engagement with major environmental organizations and an invitation from UNEP to the global environmental summit in Bonn, Germany, alongside Dr. Shashi Tharoor and Priyanka Chaturvedi. Prathapan also opposed large-scale tree felling for the new Parliament complex, challenged destructive coastal mining under the Blue Economy policy, and repeatedly raised concerns over river pollution in Parliament.

His ecological consciousness began in childhood, inspired by his father, who planted and nurtured trees during off-seasons from fishing. From him, Prathapan learned the value of biodiversity, medicinal plants, water conservation, and coexistence with nature. Even today, his mornings begin in conversation with the trees and animals around his home—a living reminder that the Earth belongs equally to all beings, a philosophy he often associates with Vaikom Muhammad Basheer’s timeless humanism.