CPM Demands Tamil Nadu Appeal Supreme Court Order to Evict Tiger Reserve Residents

On Wednesday, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) urged the Tamil Nadu government in Chennai to immediately appeal against a Supreme Court order directing the eviction of residents from the Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve.

CPM state secretary P Shanmugam strongly criticized the Supreme Court's directive, which ordered the deployment of paramilitary forces to carry out the eviction drive in the protected forest area.

Speaking on the development, Shanmugam termed the decision to use paramilitary forces against the local population as an excessively harsh measure. He emphasized that the residents targeted for eviction are not temporary encroachers but people who have lived in the region for generations.

According to the CPM state secretary, the impending eviction drive would directly affect around 98,000 people who have established their homes and livelihoods in the Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve over several generations.

Shanmugam urged the state administration to intervene immediately and file an appeal to protect the massive population facing displacement. He stated that the government must act swiftly to counter the court's order and prevent the deployment of armed forces against its own citizens.

The CPM's demand highlights the growing tension over land rights and conservation policies in the state, with the party taking a firm stand in support of the traditional forest dwellers against the court-ordered clearance of the tiger reserve.