SC Upholds Tamil Nadu Government's 'Elephant Corridor' Notification; Appoints 3 Member Committee To Hear Objections Of Land/Resort Owners [Read Judgment]

The validity of the Tamil Nadu government notification that declared an ‘Elephant Corridor’ in the Sigur Plateau of Nilgiris District was upheld by the Supreme Court. It has been directed by the Madras High Court Judgment that all the resort owners and other private landowners will have to vacate possession of the lands that fall under the elephant corridor. A 3 member committee has been appointed for conducting an inquiry for hearing the objections of the land/resort owners and to look into the allegations of arbitrary variance in the acreage of the elephant corridor.

The land/resort owners appealed in the Apex Court and contended that there is no statutory power for protecting the elephant population in response to which the Court said that the State government has the power in light of Entries 17A ‘Forest’ and 17B ‘Protection of wild animals and birds’ under Wildlife Act to take measures for protecting forests and wildlife falling under their territory. Also, Article 21, 47, 48A and 51A(g) of the Constitution of India gives the power to the State to protect and improve the environment and to keep the forests and wildlife of our country safe.

“Articles 21, 47, 48A and 51A(g) of the Constitution of India give a clear mandate to the State to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country. It is the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures. The Precautionary Principle makes it mandatory for the State Government to anticipate, prevent, and attack the causes of environmental degradation. In this light, we have no hesitation in holding that in order to protect the elephant population in the Sigur Plateau region, it was necessary and appropriate for the State Government to limit commercial activity in the areas falling within the elephant corridor.”

The 3 member committee that was appointed for conducting inquiry observed that the elephant corridor is necessary to save. The fencing around the lands and resorts may risk their lives and if we really want the wildlife to be safe then it is essential to ensure an uninterrupted movement of them between different forest habitats.

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