Madras HC suggests CM Stalin, minister Udhayanidhi to visit villages in Kallakurichi's Kavarayan Hills
The bench directed the State to initiate all steps to ensure basic amenities such as medical facilities, road facilities, electricity and essential food items reach the people of the region.
Madras High Court (File Photo)
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Wednesday suggested that Chief Minister MK Stalin and state minister of Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin can visit the villages at Kallakurichi to apprise it of the prevailing situation and initiate immediate steps to ensure basic amenities for the people.
Following by the loss of more than 60 lives in the hooch tragedy in Kallakurichi district, a division bench of Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice C Kumarappan took up a suo motu case to protect the socio-economic status of the downtrodden Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) people residing in various villages in the Kalvarayan Hills region of the district.
The bench wondered what the previous state governments were doing as the Kalvarayan Hills region was annexed with the Indian territory only after 1976 and voting rights were given to the people in 1996. The jagirdhars (feudal officers) had enslaved the people of the region and collected tax from them, it added.
"The history of the region reveals that the State has completely neglected the region and the officials of revenue and forest department were not even bothered about them," the bench said.
Further, the judges requested Advocate General (AG) PS Raman to apprise the CM, the youth welfare and sports minister, and the Adi Dravidar and tribal welfare minister of the situation in the region by enabling their visit to Kallakurichi.
The bench also directed the State to initiate all steps to ensure basic amenities such as medical facilities, road facilities, electricity and essential food items reach the people of the region.
The judges also questioned the State for destroying several litres of hooch in the Kalvarayan Hills and not considering the fact that the livelihoods of people there depend on illicit arrack sale.
Additionally, the bench suggested the State to develop a ecological park or bring about any other tourism-related development in the Kalvarayan Hills to provide employment to the people and promote development of the region.
Senior counsel KR Tamilmani who was appointed as amicus curie submitted a report regarding the present status of the villages sorrounding the Kalvarayan Hills.
The AG on the other hand submitted that the authorities were engaged in the process of preparing a status report and sought time to submit it. After the request, the bench posted the matter to July 26, giving time to submit the report.
On July 10, the bench said that when the Election Commission goes even to the remotest region of the country to ensure that everyone exercises their franchise, correspondingly the state has to ensure that the facilities and welfare schemes have reached these people. It is the constitutional duty and mandate of the state, it had said.
The court had also earlier referred to reports that due to economic backwardness and unemployment in the region, people were forced to resort to brewing illicit liquor.
