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Chennai, Oct 9 (IANS) The Madras High Court on Thursday directed the Erode district administration and the forest department to take strict action against all illegal resorts and tourist lodges operating within the prohibited areas of the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR).
The court also sought a detailed action taken report within four weeks. Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Srivastava and Justice G. The first class bench of Arul Murugan has sentenced 57-year-old environmental activist R. This direction was issued while hearing the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Karpagam.
The petitioner alleged that 47 resorts and lodges were operating illegally inside the STR without the necessary statutory approvals.
Advocate SP Chokalingam, appearing for the petitioner, told the bench that the resorts have not received approval from the National Board for Wildlife (NBW), which is a mandatory requirement under Section 33 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Moreover, he said, they have not taken clearance from the Tamil Nadu Hills Area Conservation Authority (HACA).
Chockalingam submitted that his client had obtained information about the violations through the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. In its affidavit, Karpagam said the proliferation of unauthorized establishments has increased human pressure on the forest ecosystem and caused severe stress on wildlife populations.
“To keep the forests and hills alive, these illegal resorts must be removed. The number of such resorts is increasing day by day due to the tacit support of the authorities. If this illegality is not curbed, we may soon lose our pristine forests and amazing wildlife,” he warned.
The PIL has named the National Tiger Conservation Authority, NBW, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest-cum-Chief Wildlife Warden, Field Director of STR, HACA, Erode Collector and concerned private resorts and lodges as respondents.
State government lawyer A. Edwin Prabhakar informed the bench that the district administration has already denotified several huts functioning as illegal resorts and issued notices to others found violating the rules.
The bench directed the authorities to file their compliance report within four weeks and ensure that all unauthorized activities within the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve are curbed as per wildlife protection laws.
–IANS
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