4 days ago
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Taking a superior enactment of encroachments wrong the protected areas of the Agasthyamalai ecological scenery successful Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the Supreme Court has directed that a time-bound eviction program beryllium prepared and implemented connected priority.
The Supreme Court besides directed that disciplinary and ineligible enactment beryllium initiated against each identified 118 serving and retired authorities servants who are recovered to beryllium encroachers there.
A seat of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said encroachments wrong the protected areas of Agasthyamalai landscape, including the Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve and the Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary, person persisted and proliferated implicit respective decades contempt circumstantial directions issued by the Madras High Court and the orders passed by the Supreme Court
"The contiguous proceedings interest not simply questions of regulatory compliance oregon administrative accountability, but onslaught astatine the precise bosom of biology governance and the law work of the State to sphere and support ecologically delicate regions, fragile ecosystems, and critically endangered wildlife for the payment of contiguous and aboriginal generations," the seat said.
It delivered its verdict connected May 29 connected a plea raising issues, including those concerning preservation of reserve forests, wildlife sanctuaries and tiger reserves successful Tamil Nadu.
It noted that arsenic per a July 2025 interim study of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), the Agasthyamalai ecological scenery covers 3,500.36 quadrate km encompassing respective districts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
It noted that arsenic per study a submitted by the territory magistrate of Theni district, a full of 4,601 encroachers person occupied 5,072.653 hectares of onshore successful reserved forests crossed the territory and frankincense far, lone 1.8 percent of the full encroached wood onshore has been reclaimed.
The seat said arsenic per the DM's report, 116 authorities and nationalist inferior structures were constructed wrong wood lands without anterior approval. "Alarmingly, a full of 118 individuals listed arsenic encroachers person been identified arsenic serving oregon retired authorities employees, including unit from the Army, police, CRPF, Forest Department, Revenue Department, Electricity Board, Anganwadi, School Education, panchayats, survey section and different services," the seat said.
It said portion the State has initiated steps, including issuance of notices and betterment of 15 hectares from specified officials, the proceedings against a important fig stay pending.
"A time-bound, division-wise encroachment eviction program shall beryllium prepared and implemented connected priority, with intelligibly defined timelines, measurable milestones, and designated serviceman level responsibilities. The said program shall beryllium placed earlier CEC wrong a play of 1 month," it said.
It said the eviction program should see broad measures for carnal eviction, rehabilitation wherever applicable, ineligible enactment against wilful violators, and post-eviction ecological restoration, truthful arsenic to guarantee that reclaimed wood onshore is not re-encroached.
"Disciplinary and ineligible enactment shall beryllium initiated against each identified 118 authorities servants recovered to beryllium encroachers, successful accordance with Rule 3 of the Tamil Nadu Government Servants' Conduct Rules, 1973 and different applicable laws," it said.
The seat directed that the State shall see imposing further penalties connected each contiguous and erstwhile authorities employees recovered to beryllium encroachers, and necessitate specified persons to deposit due biology restitution and restoration charges with the Tamil Nadu State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).
"A broad moratorium shall beryllium imposed connected the hold of payment schemes, nationalist utilities, transport facilities, energy supply, and infrastructure enactment wrong encroached wood areas, truthful arsenic to guarantee that amerciable concern is neither incentivised nor legitimised," it said.
"Stringent disciplinary, penal, and transgression enactment shall beryllium projected against each officials, officers, and heads of departments who commenced, facilitated, approved, oregon permitted amerciable infrastructure works wrong the wood areas, specially wrong the Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuary, and mostly wrong the Agasthyamalai Biosphere successful usurpation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980," the seat said.
It said each authorities establishments, facilities, and unauthorised infrastructure situated wrong wood areas, shall beryllium discontinued, relocated, dismantled and removed from wood onshore wrong six months.
It said each amerciable resorts, commercialized establishments, and tourism-related infrastructure operating wrong the Megamalai country and different wood lands shall beryllium made non-operational forthwith and dismantled successful accordance with instrumentality and by ensuring minimum disruption to the wood area.
"In lawsuit the State authorities fails to guarantee compliance with the supra directions, the CEC whitethorn urge deployment of paramilitary forces for providing assistance to transportation retired the workout of removal of encroachments," it said.
It asked the States to taxable monthly compliance reports to the CEC.
The seat asked the CEC to undertake crushed verification and taxable quarterly presumption reports earlier it until each directions are afloat complied with.
It asked the CEC to taxable its study successful a sealed screen by August 28 and posted the substance for further proceeding connected September 1.
