The National Green Tribunal Southern Bench has suo motu taken up the case related to the road laid by the Forest Department inside the core habitat of Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve.
On November 19, the NGT Southern Bench took up the case under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
The respondents are Principal Chief Conservator of Forests; Secretary of Department of Environment and Forests; KMTR Field Director, KMTR Foundation represented by its Executive Director, District Forest offficer and Wildlife Warden, Tirunelveli Division and District Collector, Tirunelveli district.
On November 1, The Hindu had carried a report titled 'Forest department road endangers core KMTR habitat: activists'. According to the report, the Forest Deparment was using heavy equipment to create a 30-km road inside the core habitat KMTR. These were some of the tropical evergreen forests untouched by human intervention and also the birth place Tamirabarani, the only pereniall river in Tamil Nadu, the activists had said warning that the new road could endanger the very existence of the reserve.
Denying use of heavy equipment and the laying of any pucca road, the KMTR officials insisted that they only cleared the 'katcha' road to have better access for officials to the core areas for better surveillance.
The NGT Southern Bench has now taken up the case suo motu based on The Hindu report.
