MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday sought a status report on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition seeking a direction from the state government to open the biodiversity park at Sirumalai in Dindigul to the public.
The litigant R Manibharathi, an advocate from Madurai, submitted that Sirumalai is a dense forest sprawling over 60,000 acre, located 25 km from Dindigul district. It is home to 536 species of trees and 895 types of herbs. To promote ecotourism, the state government decided to establish a biodiversity park in 2019 at a cost of Rs 5 crore here. There were also plans to set up an arboretum consisting of over 100 varieties of trees with botanical names, he added.
Though construction of the park was over, it has not been inaugurated yet, due to maintenance works being carried out at the park, he alleged. This is due to the poor quality of construction by the concerned contractor, he further claimed. He requested the court to direct the government to open the park to public after ensuring adequate basic facilities were in place.
A bench comprising Justices MS Ramesh and AD Maria Clete issued notice to the state forest department and Dindigul collector among others and adjourned the case to February 19 for filing of status report.