The Madras High Court has stepped in to protect the wildlife of Coimbatore by imposing a strict ban on noisy New Year celebrations at resorts located next to sensitive forest areas. A special bench has directed the district's forest and revenue authorities to ensure no festivities with loud music are allowed during night hours in the Anaikatti and Thadagam valley regions, which are adjacent to reserve forests.
Court Order Based on Activist's Petition
The significant directive was issued on December 19 by a special division bench comprising Justices N Sathish Kumar and D Bharatha Chakravarthy. The order came in response to a writ petition filed by wildlife activist S Muralidharan. He argued that the planned New Year celebrations at resorts operating near the reserve forest zones, especially in Anaikatti, could have a severely negative impact on wild animals.
During the hearing, Muralidharan reminded the court of existing stringent restrictions in forest areas, which include a ban on vehicles using loud horns and high-intensity lights on roads inside reserve forests at night. He highlighted that resorts in Anaikatti were charging between Rs 2,000 and Rs 4,500 per person for New Year events. He expressed concern that the accompanying loud music, decorative lights, and all-night dancing would disrupt the natural movement and behavior of wildlife.
Departments Directed to Enforce Safeguards
The judicial bench strongly reiterated the necessity of strictly enforcing all existing safeguards meant to protect fragile forest ecosystems. The court explicitly ordered the authorities not to permit resorts to conduct night-time celebrations in the Thadagam Valley and Anaikatti reserve forest area. The forest department was instructed to take appropriate action to ensure compliance and prevent any activities that could disturb the animals.
However, District Forest Officer N Jayaraj presented a jurisdictional nuance. He stated that no resort is actually situated inside the forest land; they are built on revenue land. Therefore, he added, it is primarily the duty of the revenue department to issue directives to these resorts.
Allegations of Illegal Construction and Negligence
Activist S Muralidharan, in his conversation with the media, raised further serious allegations. He claimed that many of these resorts were illegally constructed without obtaining the mandatory permission from the Hill Area Conservation Authority (HACA), and this illegal construction itself affects wildlife corridors. He accused forest officials of not being sufficiently concerned about wildlife, as they were not taking proactive steps to prevent such celebrations near reserve forests.
Muralidharan emphasized a crucial point: even though the resorts are on revenue land, the noise pollution they generate directly affects the adjacent forest wildlife. He asserted that the forest department holds every right to take necessary action to protect wildlife from such disturbances, irrespective of land jurisdiction.
The court's order represents a significant intervention to balance tourism and entertainment with the imperative of ecological conservation, especially during festive periods that pose a high risk of disturbance to natural habitats.
