Tribunal halts work in tiger reserve

On behalf of the state government, M. Selvaraju, chief engineer, public works department, Cauvery technical cell, Egmore, filed the impleading petition in the matter concerning shifting of the car parking area from the Periyar tiger reserve to a peripheral area on a petition filed by M.S. Thankappan.

The counsel stated that on an application from Thankappan in March this year, the tribunal had passed an interim order restraining the Central and state government authorities from proceeding with activities, either developmental or constructional, in the Periyar tiger reserve until further orders, since a prima facie case was made out by the applicant.

On May 26, 2014, the tribunal modified its order, permitting the deputy director, Periyar tiger reserve, to have anti-poaching sheds and shift the car park to a peripheral area a part of Kumili town.

The Tamil Nadu counsel opposed this, as the peripheral area lies in the water spread area of the land leased out to Tamil Nadu under the lease deed of 1886 entered between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, for the Periyar project.

When TN government officials noticed that construction work had begun in a portion of the area which lies in Tamil Nadu, they alerted higher officials and filed the petition for injunction. Commercial activity would affect the ecological balance and affect the entire environment.

Furthermore, the subject area being a forest area, any commercial activity has been prohibited as per provisions of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. The tribunal adjourned the matter to September 26.