Ooty: With the Supreme Court passing orders on a public interest litigation (PIL) on the Segur Valley Elephant Corridor at the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) buffer zone, it has given directives to the Tamil Nadu government not to transfer the Collector of the Nilgiris, J. Innocent Divya, until further orders.
This is possibly the first time in history that the apex court has given such a direction in matters related to the Nilgiris. It is also a fact that Divya's exemplary performance, her honesty and integrity in dealing with the elephant corridor issue has come in for recognition.
Divya was courageous earlier in taking steps to disband the 140-year-old Nilgiris Wildlife and Environment Association, as this association proved to be a lame duck organisation in recent years. Her commitment came to the fore in August when she took steps to collect clear data on unauthorised tourist resorts in the Segur Valley Elephant Corridor and closed down 38 such resorts which were found to be running 400 suites/rooms, as per the apex court orders.
Last week, she took steps to remove fences around the closed resorts. While the apex court verdict is still awaited on another 400 other constructions in the corridor including those of some bigwigs, the present directive from the apex court is expected to pave the way for Divya to take an iron hand on corrective actions to remove encroachments in the corridor. Elephant G. Rajendran, Chennai-based advocate-cum-environmentalist, and the petitioner in this PIL on the elephant corridor, speaking to Deccan Chronicle, said that he had raised the issue at court on Wednesday, as he was given to understand that some persons were working behind the screen to transfer Divya."I informed the court that Divya had acted in an honest way and her role as Collector is vital till the final orders on the Segur Valley Elephant Corridor are pronounced. The court accepted my plea and passed directions in this regard," he noted.
