MADURAI: Vacating the stay granted by it to a GO passed by the central government permitting removal of invasive and exotic species, such as Wattle and Eucalyptus trees, in the Kodaikanal reserve forest area, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Thursday directed the state forest authorities to strictly ensure that there is no illegal felling in the guise of the GO.
A bench of justices N Sathish Kumar and M Jothiraman further directed the authorities to monitor the removal of invasive species as per the GO and conduct proper enumeration works before holding public auctions.
The authorities were also directed to ensure that wherever invasive species are removed, restoration measures are undertaken immediately with proper management and maintenance works to restore the Shola as well as the grasslands.
The bench gave the directions while disposing of a PIL filed by an advocate G Thirumurugan alias Theeran Thirumurugan alleging illegal felling of over 1,000 native trees in Kodaikanal reserve forest area in Dindigul, in the guise of the above GO passed by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest on November 4, 2025.
However, the additional advocate general M Ajmal Khan contended that though illegal felling of trees was confirmed, no Shola trees were cut down as alleged. He also added that action has been initiated against some of the forest officials, and four of them have been suspended.
A criminal case was also registered in this regard, he added.
The judges observed that the measures to remove invasive species were being undertaken only based on the court’s directions.
The court is also continuously monitoring the issue by getting periodical status reports from each forest division on the removal process, they noted.
Citing that the stay granted in the case has halted the entire removal process, they vacated the interim order and disposed of the petition with the above directions.