Minister CTR Nirmal Kumar blames past regimes for Megamalai crisis

Key points

• Stating that 168 petitions had been filed during the inquiry conducted by the Forest Settlement Officer following the 1978 draft…
• Nirmal Kumar said petitions were examined, and orders were passed, some of which were subsequently challenged before courts.
• He said the matter was scheduled to come up before the Supreme Court on Wednesday and that the administration would…
• The people had been agitating over the problem for more than 15 years and that several cases had been pending…

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Monday blamed successive governments for failing to resolve the land rights problem in Megamalai when the area was declared a reserved forest and later brought under the Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve, leading to the current eviction drive and protests by long-time residents.

Replying to a discussion on the protests by the people against the eviction/removal of encroachments from the forest area of Megamalai, Minister CTR Nirmal Kumar stated the present action was being carried out in compliance with the Supreme Court order issued on May 29.

He said the matter was scheduled to come up before the Supreme Court on Wednesday and that the administration would submit a detailed report after the hearing. He assured the House that the government was additionally working towards a permanent solution while protecting the legal interests of those affected.

Stating that 168 petitions had been filed during the inquiry conducted by the Forest Settlement Officer following the 1978 draft notification proposing to declare the area as a reserved forest,

Nirmal Kumar said petitions were examined, and orders were passed, some of which were subsequently challenged before courts. According to The minister, if the eligible applicants had been given appropriate relief or their claims had been considered, the protests and current tension could have been avoided.

According to He also, the people had been agitating over the problem for more than 15 years and that several cases had been pending at different stages of litigation. He said that the cases, including one filed in 2017 and subsequent proceedings before the Supreme Court, had not been properly handled by the governments previously.