The Tamil Nadu government should submit to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change a revised plan for the proposed protective zone around the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, said K. Annamalai, State president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in Coimbatore on Tuesday.
The revised plan should take into consideration the views of the residents of Valparai and nearby areas. The draft proposal for the Eco Sensitive Zone, which was released by the Ministry recently, covered the main Pollachi – Valparai road, tea estates, and tribal hamlets in the Eco Sensitive Zone.
The Anamalai Tiger Reserve covers 1,479.87 sq. km., including 958.59 sq.km. of core area. However, tiger movement is contained within 20% of this area in Valparai and Top Slip. The core areas of Anamalai Tiger Reserve were notified in 2007 and the peripheral areas in 2012. Places such as Aliyar, Angalakurichi, Sethumadai, and Vettaikaranpudur were also covered. The views of the Valparai Municipality and the Coimbatore District Collector were not taken into consideration when the notification was issued, he claimed.
A check post was established in 2021 at Valparai after the DMK came to power and this had impacted the livelihood of the people of Valparai as it had affected inflow of tourists. The eco sensitive zone would bring in more restrictions and the public had registered their protest at the gram sabha meetings.
The government should, hence, take into consideration the view of the public and submit a revised plan, he said.
Published – January 07, 2025 07:54 pm IST