Annamalai urges Tamil Nadu government to form high-level panel to re-survey land in Megamalai
K. Annamalai has requested the Tamil Nadu government to form a high-level committee to re-survey land in the Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve. He argues that current forest protection measures are unfairly impacting the livelihoods of long-term residents and farmers.
Why it matters
The situation underscores the ongoing tension between environmental conservation efforts and the socio-economic rights of indigenous or long-term forest-dwelling communities.
We The Leaders founder K. Annamalai on Saturday (August 22, 2026) urged the Tamil Nadu government to constitute a high-level committee comprising officials from the Forest, Revenue, and Land Survey departments, the Theni district administration, and technical experts to re-survey land using satellite/DGPS-based methods at the Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve.
In a post on X, Mr. Annamalai said more than 1.5 lakh people had been living for several generations in 14 panchayats adjoining the Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve in Theni district. But their livelihoods, including agriculture, plantation work, and livestock rearing, were being affected due to forest protection measures.
He said farmers who held patta land were facing restrictions in cultivating their own fields and had been facing difficulties at check-posts while transporting vegetables and agricultural produce to the market. As a result, the daily livelihoods of thousands of families were being affected, he said.
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