HC imposes tourist vehicle restrictions for Ooty and Kodaikanal
There will be no restrictions on tourists who arrive by trains or government buses, and for local residents and vehicles transporting essential commodities
Madras High Court on Thursday (March 13) imposed restrictions on the number of tourist vehicles that can enter hill stations like Ooty and Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu from April 1 till June.
A special Bench of Justices N Sathish Kumar and D Bharatha Chakravarthy laid a cap for both the popular hill stations – 6,000 during weekdays and 8,000 on the weekends for Ooty, and 4,000 during the week and 6,000 vehicles during the weekends for Kodaikanal.
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However, there will be no restrictions on tourists who arrive by trains or government buses. Local residents and vehicles transporting essential commodities will also not be subject to any restrictions.
Priority for electric vehicles
The court also directed the authorities to give priority to electric vehicles when they issue e-passes for entry to the hill stations.
In April last year, the court had made e-passes compulsory for vehicles to enter the hill stations. The e-passes are given free of cost.
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“All vehicles entering the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal must obtain an e-pass to help the district administration collect data on the number and type of vehicles entering the hill stations during summer,” the court had ordered.
Overcrowding
The court has passed these orders after it reviewed a status report filed by the state government that about 20,000 vehicles enter the Nilgiris on a daily basis during the summer season.
The government informed the court that it had enlisted the services of IIT-Madras and IIM-Bangalore to do a scientific study to fix the carrying capacity of the ghat roads.
Also Read: Madras HC orders e-pass system to enter Ooty, Kodai; how will it work?
Accommodation in Nilgiris
The government’s status report said that the Nilgiris can accommodate about 20,000 tourists. These include private hotels and homestays with legal permits and also guest houses maintained by TTDC, PWD, forest and horticulture departments of the government.