Chennai: Condemning PWD and forest department officials for allowing encroachers in reserve forest land and the water spread area in Erode and Coimbatore districts, Madras High Court directed the authorities to remove the encroachment immediately.
When a PIL filed by T. Murugavel, an English professor came up for hearing before the division bench comprising Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and G.K. Ilanthiraiyan, the bench said “prima facie appears from the status report filed by the principal chief conservator of forests, that both forest and PWD officials are totally insensitive to the environment and ecological disaster, which are happening right under their eyes and it is high time, it should be set right by effective monitoring and proper follow-up action.”
The Bench was shocked to notice that forest department, which is supposed to be the custodian and guardian of the reserve forest had allowed the encroachment in the area.
This court is of the view that encroachers are in water spread area and though they claim that they are carrying out agricultural activities for quite a long time, no right has been created for them to put up solar fence to prevent the movement of the wild animals in respect of the area which is declared as reserve forest and it is also declared as elephant corridor and a part of Sathyamangalam Forest, the bench said.
It directed both the departments to remove the solar fence immediately.
The Bench also suo motu impleaded the district collector, superintendent of police and the district revenue officer, Erode district as the respondents for effective implementation and follow up action and posted the matter for further hearing to July 25, 2018.
In the petition Murugavel sought direction to the authorities to remove encroachments and to prevent encroachments in future in the reserved forest area. He said the authorities leased out fertile land situated in water spread area of Bhavani Sagar Dam in Erode and Coimbatore districts to the landless and poor farmers by GO of agriculture department dated October 18, 1967.
After the Forest Conservation Act came into force in 1980, forestlands could no longer be legally leased out for farming. Violating the norms, the farming activities continued till date.
Thought the lands were leased out to the poor farmers the wealthy farmers and mafias have control over the land and they erected solar powered fences to keep away the movement of animals, he said.
