Justices R Mahadevan and Sathya Narayana Prasad directed the district collectors of Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Kanyakumari, Coimbatore, and Nilgiri to form such committees in their respective districts for inspection of private resorts, hotels, and estates to check for such illegalities.
The Court said that the authorities must take all possible steps to protect the fragile Western Ghats ecosystem.
It also said that natural waterfalls are a gift from nature.
“We are of the view that the natural waterfalls which emerge after thousands of years of natural wear, tear, erosion and geomorphological changes, cannot be permitted to be cut and diverted by illegal means to the private resorts/estates/properties by the private persons,” the order said.
“The natural system cannot be modified at the whims and
fancies of the humans,” the Court added.
Source: Barandbench