Udhagamandalam: The Sigur elephant corridor inquiry committee, headed by justice K Venkatraman, inspected a part of the corridor in Masinagudi area on Saturday.
The three-member committee, comprising Venkatraman, former judge, Madras high court as chairman, Ajay Desai, consultant to World Wide Fund for Nature India and member of the technical committee to come up with a national elephant action plan (Neap) and Praveen Bhargava, trustee of Wildlife First and former member of National Board for Wildlife, was constituted by the Supreme Court as part of its verdict on Sigur elephant corridor in the Nilgiris to decide the individual objections of the appellants.
The three-member team visited Bokkapuram and Vibhudimalai area in Masinagudi range and collected details of those areas from forest department officials.
This is the first visit by the committee to the corridor area. “The whole of the corridor cannot be inspected given its vast area. Today, we are conducting a primary inquiry in a part of the corridor,” Venkataraman said. “Aggrieved people with objections can file their claims with proper documents for inquiry. After thorough inquiry and based on verification of documents, a report will be prepared.”
The court has directed the state government to set up infrastructure and other amenities for the committee within 30 days.