Those who set fire to the grasslands at Jandapara, near Kottakambur, a Neelakurinji habitat, be booked under the wildlife protection rules, the Save Kurinji Campaign has sought.
The campaign is a non-governmental organisation working for the protection of Neelakurinji and the Western Ghats biodiversity.
In a release here on Wednesday, its convener Rajkumar said even as the final notification for declaring the area as Kurinji national park was awaited, its demand for legal action was aimed at protecting the land mafia who had encroached on the land there.
When the Kurinji is slated to blossom next year, a large number of visitors are expected, the release said. Hence, any attempt to usurp the grasslands should be resisted. This was for the first time a national park was being created for a particular species of plant. This emphasised the importance of Neelakurinji, he said.
The Save Kurinji Campaign also submitted a memorandum to the Forest Minister for appointing more Forest officials and take stern steps to protect the plants, he said.
