HC issues notice to State and Union govts over expansion of Kodaikanal road

According to the petitioner, the district administration is laying or widening the road which passes through the wildlife corridor of Kodaikanal wildlife sanctuary.
Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court
Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court issued notices to the Union and State governments over a plea filed against widening or laying of roads from the tourist spot of Dolphin Nose to Vattakannal in Dindigul district.

According to the petitioner -- S Pandi of Thamaraikulam in Theni's Periyakulam -- the district administration is laying or widening the road which passes through the wildlife corridor of Kodaikanal wildlife sanctuary. He said the sanctuary is an important, unique, and ecologically sustainable habitat for many species including endangered ones like tiger, nilgiri tahr, and a number of butterflies. Hence, it is necessary to conserve the physical and biological diversity of the sanctuary, which has also been notified as an eco-sensitive zone by the Union government.

The petitioner said that though the administration had surveyed four alternative routes to connect Dolphin Nose by a road to Vattakanal, no official communication followed. However, the road work commenced on March 3 all of a sudden. He pointed out that the road cuts through the wildlife corridor where Indian gaur and deer move frequently, and will pose a huge risk for these endangered species. Forest trees were removed from the eco-sensitive zone for laying the road. Though no permission was obtained for the work, officials claimed they needed no permission from any competent authority, he added.

The petitioner further mentioned that felling trees inside a reserve forest needed permission from a district-level committee. He said the loss of forest area was against a Supreme Court order, and might result in landslides and loss of ecology. The expansion work also causes severe damage in terms of fragmentation and modification of animal behavioural dynamics, he said, and urged the forest department and district administration to restore the wildlife habitat in Kodaikanal. The Division Bench of Justice Paresh Upadhyay and Justice R Vijayakumar adjourned the case to April 4.

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