An advocate has moved the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the Central and State governments to ban cattle grazing in Megamalai forests it will lead to destruction of grasslands.”
In his public interest litigation petition, G. Thirumurugan said constant cattle grazing had led to degradation of the forest area. There was also a threat of foot-and-mouth disease anthrax and other diseases spreading from domesticated cattle to the wild animals. Since cattle grazing was totally prohibited in the contagious Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary, the same rule must be applied in Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuary, as the region formed part of the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, he said.
A Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and P. Rajamanickam ordered notice to the Centre and the State and sought a response to the petition. The case was adjourned for further hearing.
