Agasthyamalai Evictions and the Forest Rights Act, 2006:
The Forest Department has issued eviction notices to thousands of households in the Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve (ABR), particularly in Tamil Nadu’s Theni district, following a Supreme Court directive based on the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) findings.
- The move has sparked controversy over whether the eviction drive adequately safeguards the forest rights guaranteed under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006.
- In March 2025, the Supreme Court directed the CEC to conduct an extensive survey of the Agasthyamalai landscape to report on non-forestry activities violating the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, and the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
- Based on the CEC’s findings, the Supreme Court ordered the removal of non-forestry activities, commercial infrastructure, and encroachers within critical protected areas like the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve and Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve.
- The Court directed Tamil Nadu to prepare and implement a time-bound, division-wise encroachment eviction plan, including rehabilitation “wherever applicable” and ecological restoration.
- The administration and judiciary’s push for ecological restoration and strict conservation is being criticized for bypassing the legally mandated procedures of the FRA, which protects forest dwellers from arbitrary evictions.
