Even as the villagers of Maruthankarai in Periyanayakkanpalayam taluk were mourning the death of two elderly men in an elephant attack on Tuesday, it has come to light that the lands that were illegally occupied by brick-kiln owners fell under the notified elephant corridor.
Further, the district administration was also having a proposal to lay a road encroaching the corridor and a few senior officials had visited the spot only a few days ago.
“Recently, kiln owners bought lands in theMaruthankarai village owing to the rich and clay top-soil, ideal for making bricks. They have been denuding the top-soil rendering vast tracts of lands unfit for agriculture. Though they had permission to dig only up to 3 feet, kiln owners were digging up to 30 feet. If these activities are allowed at Maruthankarai, it will also meet the same fate,” sources said.
Recently, Additional Collector and Project Director, DRDA N Venkatesh and Revenue Divisional Officer S Santhakumar visited the hamlet with the plans of laying roads “to provide easy access to the hamlet.”
According to Santhakumar, patta-land owners have already given their consent and government lands have also been assessed for road work. Another official, on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the referred area fell under traditional elephant migratory path and any developmental or commercial activity in the areas notified under elephant corridor was illegal.