Despite not receiving clearance from the Hill Area Conservation Authority (HACA) or the district-level AAA committee to start ziplining and other adventure sports activities, the Tea Factory and Museum here has begun operating a 102-feet high tower built to host adventure sports and related activities near the factory.
The staff at the site said they were charging tourists Rs.300 for ziplining, and that the tower near Mel Kodappamund was opened recently. The tower is reported to have built at ₹60 lakh, and a worker had died during construction.
Sources in the Udhagamandalam Municipality said that No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) had been issued for the construction of the tower by the Forest Department, Agriculture engineering and geotech cell. The process is that the NOCs are sent to the Directorate of Town and Country Planning Office, and then received by the Architecture and Aesthetics (AAA) committee and HACA, who also have to approve the construction and operation, said an official. However, officials confirmed that the relevant permissions from the regulatory bodies were yet to arrive.
V Prabhakaran, Udhagamandalam Municipality Commissioner (in-charge), said he was not aware that ziplining and other activities had begun and that he would instruct municipality officials to stop the functioning of the adventure tower immediately.
Nilgiris District Collector, P Sankar, also said that he was not made aware of any permission received by the Tea Factory officials. “If they had got the clearances, the district administration would have been informed about these within a few days,” said Mr. Sankar.
Officials said that the Tea Factory authorities should have got permission for the construction and operation of the adventure tower before the works to put it up started. They said that technically, the entire structure was illegally built, and should have only started functioning after being approved by both the AAA and HACA committees.
Officials from the Tea Factory and Museum told The Hindu that they had received clearances from all the three departments concerned, and also from the fire service department. They said that the permission was still pending with the HACA and that ziplining and other adventure sports activities were being held only on trial basis.
