Now Reading: Environmentalists flag land use changes in elephant corridor
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Environmentalists flag land use changes in elephant corridor
Environmentalists have urged Kerala forest officials to halt alleged land use changes in the Periya-Pakranthalam elephant corridor, warning that excavation and construction on private land could block elephant movement and escalate human-elephant…
The Story in Brief
Environmentalists have urged Kerala forest officials to halt alleged land use changes in the Periya-Pakranthalam elephant corridor, warning that excavation and construction on private land could block elephant movement and escalate human-elephant conflict across north Kerala. The Animal and Nature Ethics Community Trust, represented by T.S. Santosh, has sought immediate field inspection and suspension of activities at the Pakranthalam bottleneck. The Trust cites Supreme Court orders barring construction in functional elephant corridors.
Chief Conservator of Forest (Northern Circle) B.N. Anjankumar told The Hindu that a case has been registered for unauthorised tree felling on private land, but land-use permissions fall under revenue and local bodies. The area shares a boundary with vested forest, and commercial development could interfere with corridor functionality. The Trust demands a scientific assessment and a high-level expert committee report within 30 days.
The Indian Opinion
The usual debate, development versus conservation, misses the point here. The Supreme Court has explicitly barred construction in functional elephant corridors, notified or not. Yet excavation on private land abutting vested forest continues. The Forest Department has registered a tree-felling case, but that skirts the larger issue of corridor integrity. The real test is whether the promised multi-agency inspection will actually halt the earthmoving and whether the 30-day expert committee report will be made public. If the corridor narrows further, more elephants will die on roads and more farmers will lose crops, both predictable, both preventable.
Source: thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
