One major hurdle for the construction of a government medical college and hospital in Udhagamandalam has been cleared, with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change clearing the diversion of 25 acre of reserve forest around Udhagamandalam town for the setting up of the facility.
The Nilgiris District Collector J. Innocent Divya confirmed the latest development to The Hindu , with the clearance now paving the way for the construction of the facility which has been a popular demand among the residents for the last few years.
“To compensate for the diversion, 50 acre or double the amount of land being taken over in the Nilgiris will be handed over to the Forest Department in Salem for compensatory afforestation works,” the Collector added.
The government had been pushing for the medical college to be set up at the site, located near Fingerpost in Udhagamandalam. An alternative was the existing building infrastructure at the now defunct Hindustan Photo Films Manufacturing Company Limited.
However, the plan was deemed not feasible due to the factory being under litigation, with a court ruling dictating that the assets be sold to pay compensation to the workers who were employed at the factory.
Forest Department officials said that there were 2,000 exotic trees, primarily eucalyptus and wattle on the 25 acre. Local residents said that apart from Indian gaur and barking deer, three leopards and a family of sloth bear used the reserve forest.
Local activists voiced their displeasure at the developments, stating that if the hospital was to be constructed near Fingerpost, one of the last remaining green spaces within Udhagamandalam town would be completely destroyed.
“It’s not just the hospital itself, but the accompanying infrastructure and activities, businesses that will invariably follow when such a huge project finally comes to fruition,” said an activist in the Nilgiris.
