The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has dismissed a petition seeking a direction to restrain authorities from collecting entry and parking fees from tourists visiting Agasthiyar Falls in Papanasam in Tirunelveli district.
The court was hearing a petition filed by activist S.P. Muthuraman of Shankar Nagar in Tirunelveli district, who said a good number of people from Tirunelveli and nearby districts visited Agasthiyar Falls, to which entry was free till recently.
The petitioner said from the second week of March, Forest Department officials started collecting entry and parking fees from tourists. For children aged below five the entry fee was ₹5; for those in the age group of five to 12 it was ₹20; and for adults the fee was ₹30.
Forest Department officials were also charging a parking fee ₹20 for two-wheelers and ₹50 for cars and vans, the petitioner said, adding the department had no authority to collect entry and parking fees. He said the local authority alone had the power to collect them.
A Division Bench of Justices P.N. Prakash and R. Hemalatha observed that entry and parking fees were levied on tourists all over the world. Considering that only small amounts were levied as entry and parking fees at Agasthiyar Falls, the court dismissed the petition.
