Chennai, Nov 4:
The Madras High Court has issued a landmark environmental directive ordering the immediate demolition of 87 unauthorized commercial resort buildings and structures constructed inside the eco-sensitive elephant corridor and protected boundaries of the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) in Erode district. The verdict represents a significant legal victory for forest conservation and wildlife corridor protection.
The division bench issued the order while adjudicating a batch of public interest litigations and administrative inspection reports detailing unchecked commercial exploitation, illegal night tourism, and unauthorized civil constructions across sensitive forest-fringe tracts. The court noted that commercial enterprises had mushroomed in contravention of the Tamil Nadu Forest Act, environmental impact norms, and Supreme Court directives governing critical tiger habitats.
Emphasizing that the preservation of contiguous elephant corridors is non-negotiable for mitigating escalating human-wildlife conflict, the bench held that private commercial interests cannot supersede the ecological survival of endangered fauna. The court directed district revenue authorities, the forest department, and the local administration to coordinate a time-bound demolition drive and restore the encroached forest tracts to their natural status.
The high court also directed state authorities to disconnect power and water utility connections to all defaulting properties with immediate effect and initiate penal proceedings against officials who facilitated or overlooked illegal layout permissions. Forest conservationists have hailed the decision, expressing optimism that clearing commercial encroachments will restore unimpeded wildlife migration between the Western and Eastern Ghats.