VELLORE: The State Government would soon appoint an inquiry commission to probe into the reported land record scam in Yelagiri Hills, said Minister for PWD and Law Durai Murugan here on Saturday.
Inaugurating the two-day Summer Festival and launching development works worth Rs 2.32 crore in the Yelagiri Hills, the Minister said that people were hesitant to purchase land in the hills as the area had not been surveyed for decades now. Also, development activities had not been initiated as the rumours of bogus settlement records were doing the rounds. The Minister urged the district administration to take up this issue and set right the revenue records.
Responding to the pleas made by the panchayat president of the hill villages, Durai Murugan assured more transport facilities to the area. He also gave an assurance on the appointment of a residential doctor in the hill hospital at the earliest.
Terming Yelagiri as an ideally located and easily accessible tourist spot from Chennai and Bangalore both by road and rail, Murugan asked the local MP to divert more funds for hill development activities. The PWD would soon have its guest house on the hills, he added.
The Minister also wanted the Collector to visit the hills every week to monitor the ongoing work, while the MLAs and Ministers did the same once in a month.
Speaking at the inaugural function, Minister for Tourism Suresh Rajan said his department has initiated works worth Rs 12 crore department in the Yelagiri Hills, which in turn led to a 20 per cent rise in tourist flow in the past three years as compared to the State average of 22 per cent.
Union Minister of State for Information Dr S Jagathratchakan sought the support of media to publicise the features of the hills to attract more tourists. He assured that his ministry would also supplement the efforts of the State Government in this regard.
Presiding over the inaugural function, District Collector C Rajendran assured that steps would be taken to free the hills from plastic menace. He said an open amphi theatre (Rs 42 lakh), adventure sports village (Rs 50.7 lakh), traditional arch at the boathouse entrance (Rs 30 lakh), fencing of Yatri Nivas and boating lake (Rs 24 lakh) and beautification, footpath, road works (Rs 80 lakh) have been completed this year. Also, 141 works estimated at Rs 5.9 crore were going on. A proposal to set up a botanical garden for Rs 5 crore has been sent to the government for approval, he added.
As part of the summer festival, various government departments have put their stalls in the hills.