The State government is seriously thinking of moving the National Green Tribunal (NGT) regarding the destruction of bio-diversity at the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) on account of the rising water level in the Mullaperiyar reservoir, Minister for Forests and Transport Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan has said.
Speaking to mediapersons here on Saturday, he said the 26.8-sq km PTR, considered among the premier tiger reserves in the country, had lost 1.70 sq km of its pristine, evergreen forest patches rich in biodiversity when the water level was increased to 142 ft from the earlier 136 ft.
If Tamil Nadu was allowed to raise the water level further, the flora and fauna in another 5.68 sq km would be lost. The decision to increase the water level to the maximum limit would damage the evergreen forests, he said.
The Minister said that in spite of the stringent rules and regulations in place for the protection of forest environment, the Tamil Nadu authorities were moving ahead, giving scant regard to such stipulations. These stipulations had, in fact, held up the development of Sabarimala for long.
The State had encountered problems in its attempts to increase the water level at the Peppara reservoir for the same reasons, he said.