Authorities demolished 12 buildings in the Sigur elephant corridor in the Nilgiris, including 11 structures at Glenview resort and one at Wild Adventure resort, in an enforcement action carried out under police protection with the help of a JCB machine.
The demolition took place in the Mudumalai-Masinagudi area of the Nilgiris district, where the Sigur landscape functions as an elephant corridor. The structures included tourist resort buildings and other constructions reported to have been built in violation of applicable permissions and land-use requirements.
The action follows a legal process that began in 2008, when advocate ‘Elephant’ Rajendran filed a public interest litigation petition before the Madras High Court. The petition sought the removal of unauthorised tourist resorts, encroachments and other buildings from the elephant corridor.
In 2011, the Madras High Court ordered the removal of unauthorised tourist resorts and encroachments located along the corridor. The court subsequently constituted a committee headed by former Madras High Court judge Venkataraman to examine issues connected with the elephant corridor.
According to the report, the committee directed that notices be issued to owners of buildings constructed in violation of the rules before removal proceedings were undertaken. The latest demolition involved 11 buildings at Glenview resort and one building at Wild Adventure resort.
The use of police protection indicates that the operation was treated as an enforcement exercise requiring security arrangements. A JCB was used to bring down and clear the identified structures. The supplied report does not specify the authority that led the operation, the legal status of the individual buildings, or whether further demolitions are planned.
The case places the focus on how construction and tourism activity is regulated inside ecologically sensitive movement routes. An elephant corridor is not merely an undeveloped tract: interruptions caused by buildings and other encroachments can restrict the movement of animals between habitat areas. The court proceedings have therefore linked the question of unauthorised construction with the protection of the corridor.
The demolition also marks the latest reported enforcement step in a matter that has remained active since the 2008 petition and the 2011 court direction. Further action will depend on the notices, committee directions and implementation of the court’s order in relation to other structures in the corridor.
