Madras HC orders probe into encroachment of forest land in Nilgris

Chennai: The Madras high court on Wednesday came down heavily against encroachments of forest land stating that “It is imperative that not an inch of forest land be allowed to be encroached upon in the state without a policy decision in such regard being made upon due justification

Chennai: The Madras high court on Wednesday came down heavily against encroachments of forest land stating that “It is imperative that not an inch of forest land be allowed to be encroached upon in the state without a policy decision in such regard being made upon due justification.”

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The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy directed concerned officials to visit a spot in Nilgiris from where the complaint arose and asked officials to reverse the encroachment. The bench also called for action against negligent officers for not protecting forest land.

The case pertains to a plea filed by a petitioner, S Prabakaran against an individual from Chennai for purportedly encroaching on forest land to set up a resort in Naduvattam village of Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district. The petitioner informed the court that despite the district forest officer bringing the matter to the notice of the Additional Principal Conservator of Forest, no action has been taken and construction has commenced.

The petitioner also said that the respondent has laid pipelines that extract water out of forest land. “If such is the case, the same must be stopped immediately and the negligent or recalcitrant forest officials identified and steps are taken against them for not being able to protect the relevant forest,” the court said. “The District Collector, Nilgiris, and the Chief Forest official exercising jurisdiction over the area should immediately visit the spot and conduct surveys, if necessary, and ensure that the last inch of forest land that might have been encroached upon is returned to its pristine status.”

The court has directed the concerned forest official to file a report when the matter appears next in three weeks on June 30. The court asked for the petition to be forwarded to the office of the Advocate-General for the state, R Shunmugasundaram “to treat the matter with the degree of seriousness it deserves.”