At least 10 of the 12 resorts still functional in the elephant corridor of the buffer zone of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) are illegal, officials from the Nilgiris district administration confirmed on Thursday.
After the Supreme Court’s recent verdict on encroachments along the corridor, 27 of the major resorts in Mavanallah, Sinara, Vazhaithottam and Bokkapuram were sealed by the district administration on Sunday.
Requisite licences
Apart from the 27 which were shut down, 12 other resorts, which are some of the largest in the area, were given time to produce documents proving that they had the requisite licences to run commercial operations.
After the owners of produced some form of documentation, a special team was constituted by District Collector Innocent Divya to verify them and ensure that they were authentic. Speaking to The Hindu , Ms. Divya said that the process was “almost complete,” and that apart from two of the resorts, which have some form of documentation dating back to the 1980s.
However, the others were all deemed to be illegal. She added that once the process was completed in the coming days, closure notices would be issued and that the resort premises would be sealed as well. Officials said that even the two resorts, which seemed to have the permission, house illegal structures within their premises.
Officials said these will be sealed, even if the owners have permission for other structures within their compound. However, the authenticity of their documents are still under scrutiny.
