3 months ago
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The Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) connected Friday (February 13, 2026) informed the Madras High Court it shall endeavour to regenerate the petrol outboard centrifugal boats (OMBs) with electrical OMBs at Pykara water adjacent Udhagamandalam (Ooty) successful the Nilgiris district.
In a presumption study submitted earlier a peculiar Division Bench of Justices N. Sathish Kumar and D. Bharatha Chakravarthy, constituted to perceive wood and situation related cases, the TTDC Managing Director said, the corp volition acquisition lone electrical OMBs successful future.
The submission was made aft the court, assisted by amici curiae T. Mohan, Chevanan Mohan, Rahul Balaji and M. Santhanaraman, raised concerns implicit the cognition of precocious velocity boats that usage fossil fuels and make a batch of sound thereby causing harm to the pristine environment.
Responding to the concerns raised by the court, the TTDC MD said, the corp astatine contiguous uses lone petrol OBMs and not diesel OBMs. “The petrol OBMs make minimal motor sound and bash not origin immoderate dependable contamination that would disturb wildlife oregon different taxon successful the surrounding environment,” the MD asserted.
The tribunal was told the petrol OBMs astatine the Pykara Boat House were maintained good and determination had been nary lipid leakage into the h2o assemblage astatine immoderate signifier of the operation. Steps had been taken to guarantee the h2o does not get polluted with harmful contaminants which could interaction aquatic life, the MD said.
Further, clarifying the boating activities were not carried retired wrong immoderate halfway wood area, the TTDC said, the Boat House was located connected a onshore belonging to Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and it had been taken connected lease by the corp for a play of 31 years.
“No wood onshore is progressive successful the operation. Hence, determination is nary disturbance to wildlife question oregon ecological equilibrium successful wood areas owed to the boating activities,” the MD said and added it had enforced a strict prohibition connected integrative materials successful and astir the boating area.
“Continuous monitoring is undertaken to guarantee compliance with the integrative ban, and indispensable measures are successful spot to support cleanliness and biology information wrong the premises,” the TTDC said and informed the tribunal of having decided to present solid h2o vessel strategy astatine its hotels successful Udhagamandalam region.
Stating precocious velocity boating activities, utilizing pitchy skis and different velocity boats, was the main tourer attraction astatine the Pykara lake; the TTDC MD said, immoderate abrupt stoppage of the cognition of the petrol OBMs would origin disappointment among tourists too resulting successful immense nonaccomplishment of gross to the corporation.
To support the environment, the corp assured the High Court it would gradually person the existing petrol OBMs into electrical OBMs wrong a tenable play of time, truthful that the ongoing cognition of the boathouse does not get affected, and it would not acquisition immoderate petrol OBM successful future.
