CHENNAI: A special bench of the Madras High Court hearing forest-related cases on Friday issued an ultimatum to the state government for releasing the final draft report on the elephant corridors in the Western Ghats and said the court may have to notify the corridor if the government fails to do so by February.
As per the schedule for preparing the draft report, it should have been done by October and the public hearing should have been completed by November-December but no such activities were carried out, said the bench comprising justices N Sathish Kumar and D Bharatha Chakravarthy while hearing a petition seeking declaration of the elephant corridors.
The bench said if the government fails to submit the final corridor report by February 2026, it will make the declaration of the corridor as per the report of the expert committee. It adjourned the hearing to March 6, 2026. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden Rakesh Kumar Dogra filed a status report on the progress of the works made so far.
Speedboat ban at Ukkadam
Meanwhile, the bench directed the authorities concerned, including Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC), not to operate speedboats at the newly developed Ukkadam Lake in Coimbatore district. It also directed that light and sound events shall not be held in the lake. The CCMC, in a status report, said a positive transformation has taken place in the case of Ukkadam and Valankulam lakes after the civic body took control of them.
The lakes were rejuvenated with the mission of providing a healthy, peaceful and pleasant environment for both the people and the wildlife under the Smart City Scheme. There has been no disturbance to birds or wildlife due to noise pollution or human presence.
“On the contrary, the development of these lakes has enhanced nesting areas for birds through the creation of islands planted with trees and shrubs. Human presence does not interfere with the birds’ life cycles,” the report filed through special government pleader T Seenivasan stated.
Denying allegations of solar panels causing harm to the lake, the civic body noted that floating solar panels have been implemented in other states, including Telangana, Kerala, MP and UP.