Steel wire fence work in Coimbatore forests halted as Madras High Court orders status quo
A special Division Bench of Justices N. Sathish Kumar and D. Bharatha Chakravarthy issued the order in a petition filed by Chennai-based activist S. Muralidharan.
The department had launched works for the installation of the steel wire fence for a total distance of 10 km at Thondamuthur and Thadagam regions, where incidents of elephants entering human habitations are reported high.
Announced by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin last year, the project in Coimbatore is a replica of the steel wire fence established by the department in the Hosur Forest Division a few years ago.
According to District Forest Officer N. Jayaraj, the plan to erect the new type of fence, which comprises high-tension steel wires and supporting poles of 10-feet height, was a pilot project. He told The Hindu that the works have been halted based on the court's direction.
Mr. Muralidharan had prayed to direct the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden to not install steel wire fence in Coimbatore until elephant corridors are established. He wanted the impact on elephants of the already installed fence in Hosur to be studied for a report, for the court to pass orders as it may deem fit.
The department had claimed that the method implemented in Hosur was effective to prevent wild elephants from entering human habitations. The cost of erecting 1 km of fence is over ₹50 lakh.
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