NEW DELHI: Seeking to protect the biodiversity hotspot in Agasthyamalai landscape from depredation through illegal settlements, Supreme Court has ordered Tamil Nadu govt to prepare within a month a comprehensive time-bound action plan to evict thousands of encroachers, some of whom have been settled there for decades.Warning that failure to ensure compliance would invite administrative accountability at the highest level, the bench also asked TN govt to initiate disciplinary and legal action against 118 identified govt servants who have encroached on forest lands. The state govt may impose additional penalties on them and require them to deposit appropriate environment restitution and restoration charges with Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority, it said. ‘Hollow promises’: SC pulls up TN over forest encroachments Agasthyamalai landscape covers 3,500 sq km spread over TN and Kerala and has Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary, Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve and Periyar Tiger Reserve, which are home to the tiger, elephant, leopard, Indian gaur, sloth bear, Nilgiri langur, great Indian hornbill and numerous other endangered species.A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said the encroachments have persisted and proliferated because TN govt’s efforts remained “in the realm of hollow promises” and “significantly below the threshold of response that the gravity and urgency of the situation demand”.Posting the matter for further hearing on Aug 28, it said that though the task is onerous and involves considerable administrative, logistical and humanitarian complexity, “the court is equally of the view that the obligation to protect ecologically sensitive regions cannot stand indefinitely deferred on account of such challenges”.As for implementation on priority basis of “time-bound, division-wise encroachment eviction plan”, SC said that in case the state govt failed to remove the encroachments, the Central Empowered Committee may recommend deployment of paramilitary forces to assist in the exercise.To disincentivise illegal settlements on forest land, SC ordered a blanket moratorium on extension of welfare schemes, public utilities, transport facilities, electricity supply and infrastructure support within encroached forest areas.“All govt establishments, facilities, and unauthorised infrastructure situated within forest areas, including within SMTR, shall be discontinued, relocated, dismantled and removed from forest land within a period of six months,” it said. “All illegal resorts, commercial establishments operating within the Megamalai area and other forest lands shall be made non-operational forthwith and dismantled in accordance with law and by ensuring minimum disruption to the forest area,” it ordered.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos’Apologise Immediately’: Nepal Opposition Rips Into PM Balen Shah Over India Border RemarkAfter Amit Shah Meeting, Annamalai Exit Speculation Grows As New Party Talk IntensifiesCBSE-Coempt Dispute Escalates Amid Conflict Of Interest Claims And Strong Denials’Even Hitler Did Not…’: Mamata Slams BJP Over ‘Police Raj’ In Bengal, Attack On Abhishek Banerjee’Cooker Only’ Audio Row Deepens Congress Rift As Zameer Denies Viral Recording Claims | WatchSanjay Singh Confronts Police Officials During Student Interaction Over Exam Paper LeaksMonkey Snatches ₹2 Lakh Bag In UP Court, Climbs Tree And Showers Currency Notes From AboveIndia-US Trade Deal Nears Finish Line, First Tranche May Be Signed Soon: Piyush GoyalTMC Expels Two MLAs, Ritabrata Banerjee And Sandipan Saha, Amid Signature Mismatch RowRahul Gandhi flags ‘phone-scanned’ answer sheets as CBSE-OSM tender row deepens123PhotostoriesOut of the shadows: The Women who made Madhubani art globalTracing the Indian Art forms that conquered the worldCucumber (Kheera) vs Snake Cucumber (Kakdi): Which is more hydrating and how much to consume dailyKatrina Kaif’s post-pregnancy style era is here, and it starts with a killer black overcoatHollywood’s ugliest custody battles: From Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to Rob Kardashian and Blac ChynaIs Anushka Sharma’s white ensemble RCB’s new lucky charm? A throwback to her 2025 IPL finale lookTop 10 Indian cities where property prices have risen the most in 2026From the elite class’s hobby to contemporary decorative: How did bonsai making turn into a modern-day art form?Love quote of the day by Louis de Bernières: ‘Love is not breathlessness; it’s not excitement’How Ranveer Singh and Farhan Akhtar’s friendship exploded over ‘Don 3’: Inside Rs 45 crore fallout that led to FWICE directive123Hot PicksVirat KohliTim David IPL FineVinod KhoslaAbhijeet DipkeMike Vrabel and Dianna ScandalShiva SenaLauren FryerTop TrendingMamata BanerjeeDelhi ITO FireWWE Clash Results and HighlightsGavin Yates-LyonsNorway ChessSupreme CourtMumbai Air India ColonyBSEB Bihar Sakashmta Pariksha Admit CardNTANEET Paper Leak
NEW DELHI: Seeking to protect the biodiversity hotspot in Agasthyamalai landscape from depredation through illegal settlements, Supreme Court has ordered Tamil Nadu govt to prepare within a month a comprehensive time-bound action plan to evict thousands of encroachers, some of whom have been settled there for decades.Warning that failure to ensure compliance would invite administrative accountability at the highest level, the bench also asked TN govt to initiate disciplinary and legal action against 118 identified govt servants who have encroached on forest lands. The state govt may impose additional penalties on them and require them to deposit appropriate environment restitution and restoration charges with Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority, it said. ‘Hollow promises’: SC pulls up TN over forest encroachments Agasthyamalai landscape covers 3,500 sq km spread over TN and Kerala and has Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary, Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve and Periyar Tiger Reserve, which are home to the tiger, elephant, leopard, Indian gaur, sloth bear, Nilgiri langur, great Indian hornbill and numerous other endangered species.A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said the encroachments have persisted and proliferated because TN govt’s efforts remained “in the realm of hollow promises” and “significantly below the threshold of response that the gravity and urgency of the situation demand”.Posting the matter for further hearing on Aug 28, it said that though the task is onerous and involves considerable administrative, logistical and humanitarian complexity, “the court is equally of the view that the obligation to protect ecologically sensitive regions cannot stand indefinitely deferred on account of such challenges”.As for implementation on priority basis of “time-bound, division-wise encroachment eviction plan”, SC said that in case the state govt failed to remove the encroachments, the Central Empowered Committee may recommend deployment of paramilitary forces to assist in the exercise.To disincentivise illegal settlements on forest land, SC ordered a blanket moratorium on extension of welfare schemes, public utilities, transport facilities, electricity supply and infrastructure support within encroached forest areas.“All govt establishments, facilities, and unauthorised infrastructure situated within forest areas, including within SMTR, shall be discontinued, relocated, dismantled and removed from forest land within a period of six months,” it said. “All illegal resorts, commercial establishments operating within the Megamalai area and other forest lands shall be made non-operational forthwith and dismantled in accordance with law and by ensuring minimum disruption to the forest area,” it ordered.
