The Madras High Court has directed authorities to demolish 87 lodges operating illegally within the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in Erode district.
The case was filed by R. Karpagam, founder of the Osai Awareness Movement in Coimbatore. She contended that lodges functioning without the approval of the National Board for Wildlife and the Hill Area Conservation Authority were causing major damage to the environment of the hill region.
When the matter came up again before a bench of Justices N. Sathish Kumar and G.K. Muthukumar, a report filed on behalf of the Erode Collector stated that there are 87 lodges in the area and none of them has obtained the required permission. The report added that there was no evidence that approval had been obtained from the Hill Area Conservation Authority to use residential buildings for commercial purposes.
The judges directed that all 87 illegal lodges be shut down immediately, followed by steps to demolish the structures. Appearing for the petitioner, advocate S.P. Chokkalingam submitted that some lodges that had already been closed were continuing to operate through back entrances.
Taking note of this, the bench ordered that lodges operating without proper licences be sealed. The authorities have been directed to file a report on the action taken by November 27.
