Anamalai Tiger Reserve road work: Court seeks Centre’s reply
The first division bench of acting Chief Justice D Krishnakumar and Justice PB Balaji heard a public interest litigation moved by D Gowtham from Tirupur seeking to stall the road project.
Madras High Court (File)
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court directed the Centre and state to file a counter to a plea seeking to stop roadwork between Thirumoorthy hills and Kurumalai in Anamalai Tiger Reserve.
The first division bench of acting Chief Justice D Krishnakumar and Justice PB Balaji heard a public interest litigation moved by D Gowtham from Tirupur seeking to stall the road project.
According to the petitioner, the Tirupur Collector and executive officer of Thalli town panchayat has permitted the road project by violating the Forest Conservation Act 1980.
The petitioner submitted that according to the Act, the road project should not exceed 1 hectare and the felling of trees should not be more than 75 per hectares.
To get permission, the respondents has suppressed the fact about the project by stating that the proposed road is only 3,150 meters, but the actual distance between Thirumoorthy hills and Kurumalai is about 8 kilometres, said the petitioner.
The newly sanctioned road cuts across the core area of the tiger reserve, carving a road in a hill, especially in the Western Ghats, across a steep terrain would seriously harm the sensitive ecosystem of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, submitted the petitioner.
The road construction would lead to deforestation and pose a threat to wildlife, said the petitioner. It was submitted that the projects like these would lead to disasters like Wayanad landslide and sought to stall the project. The matter was posted after three weeks for further submission.
