Environmental group demands firecrackers ban in Nilgiris to protect wildlife
Pre-litigation notice urges Nilgiris officials to ban commercial firecrackers near forest corridors and resorts ahead of Deepavali to protect wildlife
With Deepavali days away, The Heritage Foundation (THF), a Kotagiri-based environmental group, has served a legal notice on Nilgiris district authorities, asking them to ban high-decibel and aerial firecrackers near forests, wildlife corridors and tourist resorts.
Late October and November witness migratory birds and heavier movement of Asian elephants and Indian gaurs in the Nilgiri biosphere. THF says loud crackers in narrow hill valleys can trigger stampedes and dangerous human-animal encounters.
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THF said it sent a pre-litigation notice and Right to Information (RTI) applications on October 27. The recipients include the District Collector, who is also chairman of the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA); the Field Director and Conservator of Forests; the District Forest Officer (Nilgiris); the District Environmental Engineer of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB); and the Superintendent of Police.
Triggering wildlife panic
THF wants a district-wide prohibitory order banning commercial-grade, high-decibel and aerial series crackers within 3 km of reserved forests, wildlife corridors, and commercial resorts and homestays across the Nilgiris.
The group said sudden explosive noise during the winter migratory season causes severe distress to wildlife, including elephants, gaurs and birds. It argues that such noise violates the Wildlife (Protection) Act and the Environment (Protection) Act.
“With 60 per cent of the district being a forest-settlement matrix and winter migratory birds arriving now, standard plains rules are triggering wildlife panic,” the organisation said.
The group alleges that resorts and homestays on forest fringes have increasingly used heavy aerial crackers to entertain tourists, bypassing silence-zone norms and local panchayat rules.
If the administration does not respond by November 2, THF says it will approach the Madras High Court or the Southern Zone bench of the National Green Tribunal in Chennai.