SC orders action against 118 officials for encroaching Megamalai forests

Madurai: Supreme Court has directed Tamil Nadu to initiate disciplinary and legal action against 118 serving and retired government employees identified as encroachers in the Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve (SMTR) and consider recovering environmental restitution charges from them for ecological restoration.The court on May 29 issued the directions after examining reports filed by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), which found that 4,601 individuals had encroached upon 5,072.653 hectares of reserve forest land across the Megamalai landscape in Theni district.The CEC also reported that 116 government and public utility structures had been constructed inside forest areas without mandatory approvals and identified 12 private resorts in Megamalai, of which three were operational and three partially operational.A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said that while the measures initiated by Tamil Nadu were a step in the right direction, they remained “significantly below the threshold of response that the gravity and urgency of the situation demands”, adding that the state’s efforts to remove encroachments continued to remain “in the realm of hollow promises”.The court directed the state to prepare a division-wise eviction plan with measurable milestones and place it before the CEC within one month. It ordered that the plan should cover physical eviction, rehabilitation wherever applicable, legal proceedings against violators and ecological restoration of recovered land.“The court ordered all government establishments and public facilities functioning within forest areas to be relocated or removed within six months. It also directed the immediate closure and dismantling of illegal resorts and commercial tourism operations in Megamalai, besides disconnecting power supply and unauthorised transmission lines serving such properties.”The bench imposed a moratorium on extending welfare schemes, transport facilities, electricity supply and infrastructure support within encroached forest areas.The order also prohibited approval of new non-forestry activities across the Agasthyamalai landscape until encroachments are removed and illegal infrastructure is dealt with under applicable laws.According to official records placed before the court, Varusanadu accounted for 2,523 encroachers occupying 3,758 hectares, followed by Gandamanur with 1,725 encroachers spread over 510 hectares.The court directed the state to submit monthly compliance reports to the CEC, which will continue ground verification and file quarterly status reports until all directions are implemented.