CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has extended the e-pass mandate to visit The Nilgiris and Kodaikanal till the end of September. This allows the State to collect data regarding the number of tourist vehicles visiting the hill stations during off seasons.

A special bench of Justice N Sathish Kumar and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy heard the cases about safeguarding forest and biodiversity.

Advocate General (AG) PS Raman submitted the status report regarding the implementation of e-pass mandate to the tourists visiting The Nilgiris and Kodaikanal. “The nodal agencies, IIT Madras and IIM Bangalore constituted by the State, have been collecting data on the number of tourist vehicles visiting the hill stations to derive a framework to fix carrying-capacity. Hence, the e-pass mandate can be extended to 3 months,” the AG added.

After the submission, the bench directed the State to extend the e-pass mandate until September 30.

In another matter, it was submitted that the Dindigul district administration was not collecting the fine amount from tourists who carry plastic bottles violating the restriction, unlike The Nilgiris.

After the submission, the bench directed the district collector of Dindigul to collect the fine amount from violators. It also directed the district collectors of both districts to file a status report on the amount of green tax collected and the measures taken to use it.