Chennai, Aug 17:
The Meghamalai issue triggered a heated exchange in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday, with Minister Nirmalkumar accusing the previous DMK government of mishandling the region’s legal and administrative issues and assuring that the TVK government would take all possible steps to find a permanent solution.
A special attention motion was moved in the Assembly on the Meghamalai issue, following which members debated the problems faced by people living in the region. Responding to the discussion, Nirmalkumar defended the government’s position and detailed the steps being considered to address the issue.
Nirmalkumar said Meghamalai was declared a reserve forest in 2009, during the DMK regime, and alleged that the issue would not have reached its present critical stage had the process been handled properly at that time.
He said people in Meghamalai had been fighting for their rights for nearly 15 years and alleged that cases relating to the region had not been handled properly by successive governments.
The minister further claimed that the DMK government had again failed to properly address the issue when the area was declared a tiger reserve in 2021.
According to him, the government had also conducted studies between 2025 and 2026 and the present situation could have been avoided if proper supporting evidence had been submitted at the appropriate stage.
The minister assured the House that the TVK government would not repeat what he described as the mistakes committed over the previous five years.
He said the government was taking all necessary measures to arrive at a permanent solution to the Meghamalai issue.
The statement assumes significance as residents of the region face the prospect of displacement amid restrictions arising from the area’s protected-forest and tiger-reserve status.
Nirmalkumar’s repeated references to the DMK led to protests from DMK legislators in the Assembly.
Following the objections, Speaker JCD Prabhakar directed that the minister’s remarks referring to the DMK be removed from the Assembly records.
However, the minister continued to explain the government’s position and subsequently made a fresh allegation concerning the previous administration.
He alleged that the present crisis, including the possibility of people being evicted from Meghamalai, was the result of the cumulative mistakes committed by the previous regime.
The minister said the government would explain within three days what legal and administrative measures could be adopted to protect the people of Meghamalai.