Actor Mithun Chakraborty’s 2 resorts, 9 others sealed in Mudumalai reserve

The two resorts, owned by the actor, were found to be running 25 commercial buildings in their premises, whereas it had licence for only 11 buildings. The illegal buildings in the two resorts, Jungle Hut and Monarch Safari Park, were sealed by the officials of the Revenue department.

The other nine resorts which faced the same consequence on Sunday were identified as Rolling Stone in Vazhaithottam, Jungle Retreat in Bokkapuram, Forest Hills Farm Guest House in Kovilpatti, De Rock Resort in Bokkapuram, Wild Haven in Chadapatti near Vazhaithottam, Casa Deep Woods in Bokkapuram, Jain Resort in Masinagudi, Blue Valley Resort in Bokkapuram and Shilwa and Cheriyaan in Vazhaithottam. These resorts were issued closure notices on Saturday and the owners were asked to take away their properties before the properties were sealed. 

The sealing drive comes following an order by the Supreme Court to lock down or seal resorts obstructing the elephant migratory pathway in MTR. Already, 27 illegal resorts constructed along the elephant corridor have been shut down.

The Supreme Court directed the remaining 12 resort management to submit valid documents needed for their functioning within 48 hours to the district administration. After perusal of the documents, the district administration, however, took action as the managements of the nine resorts could not furnish valid documents, while two other resorts were found to be running more buildings than the permitted ones.

One of the resorts, owned by Alok Gupta, wasn’t sealed as the owner claimed that the building was not used for any commercial purpose.  A report submitted by the Nilgiris district administration to the court has also identified 390 houses, 27 public buildings, nine estates and 77 farmlands on the elephant corridor in Masinagudi. 

However, the Supreme Court hasn’t given any ruling on the residential houses located on the elephant corridor. The court direction comes following a PIL seeking to shut down the illegal structures in the wake of frequent man-animal conflicts.