Greeva Garg –
Published on: September 15, 2021 at 15:57 IST
The Madras High Court has directed the Administration of Nilgiris District to conduct to conduct an inspection across the district ensuring that no residential building continues to function as home stay without obtaining necessary permission.
The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice PD Audikesavalu issued an Interim Order stating, “No new permission should be granted for home stays in Nilgiris District without conducting a scientific study regarding the impact on the fragile ecology of the hill station due to such mushrooming accommodation facilities.”
“Though there may not be a law governing the matter, a scheme must be put in place to regulate such home stays since using residential accommodation for commercial purposes, without necessary permission, would by itself be against law”, the Bench pointed out.
The Bench has also directed the District Administration to curb vehicular traffic to keep the upper levels of the hill station free from vehicles which uses fossil fuels, remarking that the motor vehicles of the tourists cause loads of damage to the ecologically delicate region.
“At the end of the day there has to be intent and a desire to protect whatever remains of nature,” the Chief Justice observed.
The petition filed by an activist Elephant G. Rajendran, urged the Court to restrain the district officials from regularising residential buildings that had been exploited commercially as resorts and short homestay without any licence.
Also, the petitioner had filed plea for restoration of elephant corridors after evicting the encroachers and submitted that in January. A pachyderm died due to burn injuries in Nilgiris after some resort employees threw a burning tyre on it to prevent him from entering the resort.
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