The Madras High Court has ordered the closure of 87 illegal resorts in the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve. The court added that steps should be taken for the demolition of the buildings.
“...we are of the view that action has to be taken to immediately close down all the illegal buildings. Further action has to be taken for demolition of those buildings also,” the court said.
The bench of Justice N Sathish Kumar and Justice GK Muthukumar noted that the establishments had not obtained planning permission/building approval from the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) for establishing or operating the resorts. The court also noted an absence of permission from the Hill Area Conservation Authority (HACA).
“With regard to the illegal resorts in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, a status report has been filed today by the District Collector, Erode, wherein, it is stated that there are altogether 87 resort establishments within the area, however, none of the said establishments has obtained planning permission/building approval from the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) for establishing or operating a resort establishment. Further, there is no record available to show that Hill Area Conservation Authority (HACA) permission has been obtained for conversion of land use from residential to commercial activities,” the court said.
The court made the direction while hearing an ongoing plea with respect to illegal reports in the tiger reserve. The court noted that two resorts had filed different petitions and had obtained an interim order against closure.
The court noted that the bench was already dealing with matters relating to illegal resorts and the same was suppressed by the resorts while obtaining interim orders from another bench. The court remarked that the resorts had not approached the court with clean hands. The court thus directed the Registry to place the other two petitions, in which a coordinate bench had passed interim orders, before the same bench to avoid conflict of orders.
When the court was informed that some of the resorts were still operating through the back door even after previous orders of closure, the court directed the authorities to identify the resorts without valid license and permission and to lock and seal them in accordance with law.
Counsel for Petitioner: Mr.SP.Chockalingam
Counsel for Respondent: Mr.P.V.Balasubramaniam, Additional Advocate General, assisted by Mr.Mohammed Fayaz Ali, Special Government Pleader, Mr.K.Surendar, Special Government Pleader, Mr.V.Chandrasekaran Senior Panel Counsel, Mr.V.Anandhamurthy, Mr.T.Padmanabhan, Mr.Madhusudhanan, Mr.K.Balu, Mr.A.V.Arun & Mr.M.Abinu Monisha, Mr.S.Thankasivam for Mr.M.R.Thangavel
Amicus Curiae: Mr.C.Mohan, Mr.T.Mohan, Mr.M.Santhanaraman, Mr.Rahul Balaji, Advocate