CHENNAI: On August 16, executive officers of Sholur and Masinagudi town panchayats in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu issued demolition notices to 35 resorts, calling them unauthorised constructions. The notice said the buildings were constructed without proper permission and violate sections 56 and 57 of the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971. The resorts have been under lock and seal since 2018 following the Supreme Court’s orders.
The resort owners were directed to demolish the buildings within 15 days, failing which the government will raze them and recover the cost from the owners, read a notice issued to Mist View Farm House, a 7,200 sq ft unapproved resort located in Bokkapuram.
While there is no indication of resort owners voluntarily pulling down the structures, the Nilgiris district administration is gearing up for ‘Operation Sigur’. If carried out, it will be one of the biggest clean-up acts undertaken by the Tamil Nadu government.
The issue is not just about building violations. These resorts are sitting right in the middle of one of the important and fragile elephant corridors — The Sigur Elephant Corridor — in the country. It is one of its kind connecting the Western and Eastern Ghats facilitating easy movement of thousands of Asiatic elephants from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Explaining why illegal resorts and other encroachments need to be removed to restore the integrity of the Sigur corridor, a senior forest official told the TNIE, elephants from Nilambur, Wayanad, Bandipur, Nagarhole and Mudumalai take the Sigur plateau since it is the only flat route available for large herds between Nilgiris high slopes and the Moyar gorge.
“The elephant herds cross Thorappaly and move either towards Manradiar-Singara or Theppakadu-Masinagudi. Already, due to high human habitations and agricultural activities, the habitat near Bokkapuram and Masinagudi is degraded. The narrow strip between Bokkapuram and Masinagudi is occupied by these unauthorised resorts blocking the passage of elephants. Once they cross this barrier, elephants enter the Sigur range, which offers a wide variety of grass. Another block is Thengumarahada. During summer, elephants congregate near Thengumarahada and Hallimoyar because of the Bhavani Sagar reservoir. As they move further, herds enter the Eastern Ghats near Dhimbham, Hasanur. This is the point where herds coming from Eastern Ghats like Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri meet their distant relatives from the Western Ghats and gene pool exchange happens, which is crucial for a healthy elephant population. This is why the forest department has fought so hard to secure the corridor,” the official said.
Development in the region started in the 1960-70s. The workers who were brought for the construction of Moyar Hydroelectric powerhouse and Pyakara powerhouse at Singara stayed back and settled there. Slowly the population grew and outsiders started coming in the 1990s and built resorts. For then on, things went out of control and a tourism boom happened. With unregulated footfall came the conflict and the habitat degraded.
Also, from the Bison valley view point, Sigur bridge to Mavanalla, it is a bull elephant bastion. “There are at least 15-20 male elephants, including Rivaldo, in this area which are very crucial for the entire population. The resort, which threw a burning tyre on an elephant that succumbed to the burn injuries later, is located in this crucial area.”
Recently, the TNIE did an aerial survey of a section of the fragmented Sigur corridor. What was seen were not small resorts. For instance, the Jungle Retreat owned by one Rohan Mathies in Bokkapuram spans over 56,000 sq ft with 21 buildings inside the property. It was built in 2001. The approval was obtained for residential use but was used for commercial purposes. Likewise, Jungle Hut run by his brother Vikram Mathias is spread over 17,665 sq ft with 20 buildings inside. Temple festivals pose another major challenge as lakhs of pilgrims throng the forest areas, play loud music the whole night, illuminate the area with bright lights and use forest firewood for cooking. Bokkapuram temple festival is one classic example.
As per the Plan of Action report filed by the then Nilgiris district collector J Innocent Divya before the Supreme Court, a copy of which is available with TNIE, there are a total of 39 resorts inside the Sigur elephant corridor with 309 buildings. (see graphic)
Sources in the Nilgiris district collectorate say, as of now, only the locked and sealed resort buildings will be demolished. A decision on the other encroachments will be taken at a later stage.
The resort owners, who face action, argue that the government was not acting fairly in the enforcement of laws. While some buildings face demolition, many others in the region, including commercial establishments, religious institutions and government buildings continue to operate without similar scrutiny. Local communities argue that the demolition orders disproportionately target a few resorts and homestays, threatening their livelihoods and the local economy.
