Ooty: The Madras High Court has ordered demolition of constructions that have come up in Ketti Town Panchayat limits near here.
Mr. K. Vijay, a green activist and former secretary of the Nilgiris Wildlife and Environment Association, is the petitioner in this case regarding sprouting of constructions in the agriculture lands in Ketti limits which is against the Hill Stations Building Rules(HSBR) norms.
Mr. Elephant G. Rajendran, the advocate who appeared for the petitioner in this case, told DC that the High Court on Thursday pronounced an order directing the district administration of Nilgiris to take steps to demolish all the constructions that have come up in the agriculture lands in Ketti town panchayat limits. Two weeks time has been given to the Nilgiris district administration to act and to file a report in this regard, he added.
Meanwhile, when contacted, Mr. Vijay, said that he was pained to see farmlands, tea gardens in Ketti area being converted into construction hubs to house tourist cottages, many of them are unauthorized too. “This is certainly against HSBR which was brought to restrict constructions in the hills to protect the fragile slopes in Ooty,” he said explaining why he went to court.
