Freeing elephant corridors in TN of encroachments: Status report sought

Amid submission by the State of closing down 172 brick kilns in the elephant corridor in the Coimbatore region, the Madras High Court, on observing that it does not appear that all the elephant migratory paths and identified as corridors in Tamil Nadu have been cleared of encroachments, directed the State to file a further status report dealing with the other corridors in the Coimbatore Forest Division and the Nilgiris.

The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy offered the direction on Wednesday based on the petitioner’s submission that one of the corridors has been restored by the closure of illegal resorts while the other corridors have to be restored and action has to be taken against brick kilns.

“It is submitted by the State that a status report has been filed indicating all the measures that have been taken. Such a status report dated June 26, 2021, indicates certain measures taken, but it does not appear that all the elephant migratory paths identified as corridors in the various forest divisions have been addressed or attended to,” the bench said.

Expressing hope that further steps would be taken by the State, particularly as the last six or eight weeks may have been lost due to the lockdown following the second surge, the bench said: “There are some brick kiln owners seeking to raise their voice in protest and giving an impression that they may have been unfairly proceeded against.”“The subject matter of the present proceedings is to ensure that forest land and corridors and paths used by animals are not encroached onto by humans. If there are brick kilns and such brick kilns are in the corridors or paths, appropriate measures are to be taken in accordance with the law,” the bench stressed.