Sigur elephant corridor committee hears grievances of 46 resort owners

They are among 226 persons who have raised objections over administration’s action

People residing along the notified elephant corridor in the Sigur have filed objections with the Supreme Court-appointed technical committee to look into their grievances.

Sources said the 226 persons, including recent immigrants to the Sigur plateau, resort owners, farmers and land-holders had objected to the actions taken by the Nilgiris district administration to secure the elephant pathways.

So far, the committee has heard grievances put forward by 46 persons, mostly resort owners, while a further 25 persons, who are believed to have encroached on the corridor will be heard in the coming days. The hearings are to take place via video conferencing. Some of the persons have put up fences while some are also believed to have constructed buildings on the land over which they claim ownership. Inspection of the properties will be conducted after listening to their grievances, sources added.

The committee was formed by the Supreme Court to hear grievances raised by land owners who alleged that the then Collector of the Nilgiris had arbitrarily taken the decision to seal buildings which were not along the notified elephant corridor. The land owners and appellants in the case had also said that the acreage of the corridor had been decided arbitrarily.

The Sigur Plateau Elephant Corridor Committee had recently written to the Housing and Urban Development Department Secretary questioning orders he had passed directing the Nilgiris Collector to “de-seal” one of the resorts that the district administration had found to have been functioning illegally along the corridor.