CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has warned that officials, including the Erode district collector and senior forest department officers, must appear in person on January 19 if illegal resorts operating inside the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve are not removed.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Karpagam, founder of a Coimbatore-based environmental group, who alleged that several resorts were functioning within the tiger reserve without mandatory clearances from the National Board for Wildlife and the Hill Area Conservation Authority (HACA). The petitioner said the unauthorised resorts had caused extensive environmental damage in the ecologically-sensitive hill region.
Earlier, the HC had directed the state government to initiate action against the illegal resorts and submit a compliance report within four weeks.
When the case came up again before a division bench comprising Chief Justice M M Srivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan, the Tamil Nadu government informed the court that 42 illegal resorts have been identified in the Sathyamangalam region and notices have been issued for sealing them.
The judges observed that, as per Supreme Court directions, illegal resorts inside forest areas must be removed and that wildlife cannot be disturbed for human leisure. Accepting the state’s request for time to file a detailed action-taken report, the bench adjourned the matter to January 19, cautioning that failure to clear the resorts would compel senior officials to appear before HC.