No More Elephants Will Be Moved To M. R. Palayam Elephant Rescue & Rehabilitation Centre: State Govt Informs Madras HC
|The Madras High Court while hearing a matter concerning rescuing and rehabilitation of elephants, has been informed by the State government that no more elephants will be moved to the Elephant Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre M.R. Palayam, Trichy. The matter will be further heard on January 24, 2024.
In the matter, it was submitted by the petitioner that through a letter it was informed that the office of the Deputy Inspector General has not received any application for establishment of an Elephant Rehabilitation Centre in Sadivayal lowland in Coimbatore. As per the averments, it was further clarified that the operation of the Elephant Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, M.R.Palayam, Trichy, is in contravention of Section 38-H of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and it does not have recognition.
A bench comprising Chief Justice S.V Ganagpoorwala and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy was informed by the Special Government Pleader (Forests), Dr.T. Seenivasan.
The Public Interest Litigation filed by S Muralidharan, who appeared in person, prayed for directions to create a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and Do’s and Dont’s manual involving all stake holders like Senior Mahouts, Elephant specialist Veterinarians and traditional Elephant owners, to formulate guidelines to take care of the facility even if there is no compassionate officer available.
The petition read, “The M.R. Palayam Elephant Rehabilitation Center (ERC) run by state forest department to house sick, retired, abused and confiscated Elephants due to lack of ownership certificate are neglected. The recent deaths of 2 Elephants give us the feeling that they have gone from ‘frying pan to fire’”.
The petitioner has produced many newspaper reports with images substantiating his case.
Before the Court, the petitioner placed on record a communication clarifying that the office of the Deputy Inspector General has not received any application for establishment of an Elephant Rehabilitation Centre in Sadivayal lowland in Coimbatore District.
The Special Government Pleader had placed a government order dated June 19, 2023 on record, sanctioning an amount of Rs.8 Crore for setting up a new Elephant Camp at Sadivayal in Coimbatore District with necessary facilities.
However, according to the petitioner, the same was in contravention of the Act of 1972 and the Rules. The petitioner further informed that the application was never been made to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and that no permission has yet been sought.
Cause Title: S. Muralidharan v. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests & Chief Wildlife Warden
Click here to read/download the Order