SC stays Madras HC order exempting pilgrims, locals from entry fee at TN Tiger Reserve
SC stays Madras HC order exempting pilgrims, locals from entry fee at TN Tiger Reserve
New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed a Madras High Court order that had barred the Tamil Nadu forest department from collecting entry fees from pilgrims and local residents accessing Agasthiyar Falls and adjoining temples located inside the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve in the state.
The Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve is located in the Southern Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, spanning the Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts.
A bench comprising Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice Vijay Bishnoi took note of the submissions of senior advocate Amit Anand Tiwari, appearing for the Principal Secretary of Environment and Forest Department, Tamil Nadu, and others and issued notice to sole respondent Vikramasingapuram Anaithu Samuthaya Peraval.
The senior lawyer assailed the June 3 order of the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court saying that there has been non-application of mind.
"Issue notice. Returnable in three weeks. In the meantime there shall be an ad-interim stay ," the CJI said.
The plea said the high court directed that no entry fee shall be collected from pilgrims and local residents accessing Agasthiyar Falls and the adjacent temples situated within KMTR, which is a critical Tiger Habitat duly notified under the Wildlife Act without any clarity whatsoever as to who is a local resident.
"Resultantly, about 20 lakh people in the villages and towns near the tiger habitat will have personal and vehicular access without any entrance fee to the tiger reserve," it said.
The plea, filed through lawyer Purnima Krishna, sought the stay of the impugned order of the high court.
It said the high court order was legally untenable, created administrative chaos, and effectively granted free access to nearly 20 lakh people residing in nearby villages and towns, without defining who qualifies as a "local resident".
The Tamil Nadu forest department submitted that the levy of entry fees at the Papanasam forest checkpost is carried out under a government order of February 8, 2018, and the National Tiger Conservation Authority Guidelines for Tourism in and Around Tiger Reserves issued on October 15, 2012.
"The collection of entry fees at designated forest check-posts, including the Papanasam check-post, is not a tax but a regulatory measure aimed at ensuring ingress monitoring, anti-poaching enforcement, habitat protection, and eco-tourism management," it said.
The plea pointed out that Agasthiyar Falls lies entirely within the core zone of the KMTR, spread across 895 sq km, where access is strictly controlled under the Wildlife Act.
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