HC stays Centre’s ESZ notification in Kumari

Madurai

A public interest litigation petition filed by M Satheesh of Thovalai came up for hearing before a Division Bench of Justice N Kirubakaran and K Pugazhendi.  The bench, after hearing, granted interim stay on the gazette notification, and also imposed ban on quarrying operations in the eco sensitive zone and also directed not to give fresh permissions to any further quarry. The bench also ordered the Centre to issue any notification in regional vernacular language apart from Hindi and English. The case was adjourned to December 14.The petitioner stated that already parts of Western Ghats in the district have been declared as an ‘eco sensitive zone,’ which’s a serious issue affecting the lives of common men.  The public started opposing when they knew that the Secretary to Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, approved a draft notification demarcating the villages and published it in the official gazette on February 20, 2020.