Tamil Nadu free cattle fodder aid may derail SC fiat on jumbo corridor

The free livestock scheme and the fodder bank assistance of the State government are all set to trigger fresh wildlife encounters and the number of cattle kills by leopards and tigers in Vaazhaithottam and Anaikatti, the villages which are part of the elephant corridor coming under the protected Mudumalai Tiger reserve, admit confidential wildlife sources.

In a serious violation of Supreme Court order that restricts any development activities along the elephant corridor, the state authorities have now started the preliminary works to establish a fodder bank and are planning to set up sheds for livestock in Vaazhaithottam that comes under protected MTR. According to an informed wildlife official, the project is a contradiction to existing policies of the State Forest Department and the observations of the Supreme Court. The project would certainly invite more fatal man-animal conflicts from the habitats of tigers. Further, trenches that are dug up to prevent the movement of elephants along the elephant corridor are raising the eyebrows from wildlife activists. Any project that promotes livestock population near a tiger reserve would attract the leopards and tigers, the official quipped.

“In the past nine months, ten cases of livestock killing including four cattle and six goats have been reported near the villages surrounding MTR,” another informed government source told DT Next. Confirming that a recent cattle-kill in Pandalur was by a tiger, the source who was witness to the carcass autopsy said, in some cases the public is wilfully misled to avoid panic. Such incidents would be officially recorded as tiger on paper, but the people would be told that the predator was a leopard, source told DT Next.

“The Forest Department is asking villagers not to grow cattle near a tiger reserve, but the Revenue and Animal Husbandry department is bringing a fodder bank and are distributing cattle,” said R Kannan, a local resident. The resorts and guest houses in Bokkapuram, Vazhaithottham and Anaikatti have been closed as these areas are coming under elephant corridor, but the State government is now digging trenches to stop the elephant movement in Vazhaithottam, said K Chandran, who recently lost his job after the closure of a resort near Vazhaithottam.

When contacted Nilgiris Collector J Innocent Divya confirmed that the livestock scheme is being executed to develop the livelihood of villagers in The Nilgiris. “In Anaikatti and Vazhaithottam livestock are being distributed and sheds have been constructed for cattle. It is a dicey situation where you must balance both the public livelihood and wildlife. Further, the trench that is dug up by the Gudalur block officials is a very small pact of land and will not hinder the elephant movement,” she said.

When asked that the leopards and tigers are striking the cattle, the Collector said that the leopards were straying even into towns striking the livestock. Livestock is essential for poverty alleviation and boosts the rural economy of villagers. Anyhow, we would re-examine the setting up of cattle sheds and fodder crops in sensitive areas, the Collector assured.