Damage to wetland inside forest draws criticism from conservationists in Nilgiris

Residents allege that a government department began digging up the wetland, located along the Udhagamandalam to Manjoor Road, inside a reserve forest; Forest Department officials have said they have initiated action

The excavation of a patch of wetland near Lovedale near Udhagamandalam, in the Nilgiris, by a government department unaware of the importance of the area to local biodiversity, has drawn criticism from local conservationists.

The wetland is located in the south range of the Nilgiris forest division, and local residents recently noticed that earth-movers were being used to dig up a portion of it by workers either from the Regional Transport Officer or the Highways Department. The wetland is located along the Udhagamandalam to Manjoor Road, and wetland bird species are often spotted there, residents said.

G. Janadhanan, president of the Ooty Public Awareness Association, said rules were in place to protect wetlands but were being ignored, even by government departments. “Already, the wetland at the Ooty Railway Station has been destroyed with buildings being partly built and abandoned. Construction waste is also dumped in the wetlands surrounding Ooty Lake, while there have been buildings which were built within wetlands in Ooty and had to be abandoned due to the buildings sustaining damage, as the soil was unable to support such structures,” said Mr. Janardhanan.

Like grasslands, the importance of wetlands in preserving local biodiversity is often neglected, said Mr. Janardhanan, pointing to the loss of other wetlands in the Nilgiris such as the Rifle Range wetland in Kotagiri.

The Forest Department was intimated about the destruction of the area by residents, and officials confirmed that the land was inside a designated reserve forest.

District Forest Officer, Nilgiris division, S. Gowtham, when contacted by The Hindu, said the area adjoining the wetland is used by the Regional Transport Office to issue fitness certificates to vehicles. Mr. Gowtham said an explanation has been sought from the RTO office as to why the wetland was disturbed.