Green activists have criticised a brief year-end stay by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid in a disputed private resort in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in Udhagamandalam district of Tamil Nadu.
The Minister, however, dismissed the controversy, saying: “There is nothing illegal in staying there. The Supreme Court has already stayed the Madras High Court order of closing down the resort. I don’t know what order the Supreme Court will pass, but as long as it stays the High Court order, the private resort is free to operate.”
In ecologically sensitive areas such as the Nilgiris, efforts of green activists to protect flora and fauna should be supported and nothing should be done by people in sensitive positions to dilute them, Tamil Nadu Green Movement coordinator K. Mohanraj told The Hindu .
Part of elephant corridor
It was ‘highly discouraging’ as the resort was part of the Sigur Elephant Corridor. It was owned by relatives of Mr. Khurshid, he said.
With the Madras High Court ordering that all unauthorised structures be vacated and the premises handed over to the district administration, the resort owners have approached the apex court.
Though the matter was sub judice and the local authorities had made available a VVIP guesthouse at Upper Kargudi inside the MTR for Mr. Khurshid, he had chosen to stay in the resort.
Moreover, the MTR officials had informed those running resorts that New Year celebrations should not in any way affect wild animals.
“We fear that the Union Minister’s decision to patronise a disputed resort in a controversial location will send the wrong message,” Mr. Mohanraj said.
“These resorts are dismembering a vital corridor that connects the Eastern and Western Ghats’ elephant population. By opting to stay in the Kargudi guesthouse, the Minister would have sent the right and encouraging signal,” he said.
Defending his action, Mr. Khurshid said: “There are some persons running a campaign to close down resorts in forest areas there. I have no problem with that. They had approached the High Court, which gave an order supporting their contentions. After the High Court order, the Supreme Court gave a stay. The Supreme Court order categorically says no dispossession to take place, no demolition to take place.”
He said, “The place is licensed. They pay their taxes. Right now this place is legal, legitimate and open. Once the Supreme Court decides it is wrong, then it is wrong. Till then I can’t be dictated by some group or the other that I should not go here or go there.”
