Tamil Nadu sanctions Rs 10.71 crore for climate-resilient hill town master plans

Experience a 50km trek through the forests of Kodaikanal. But encounter its 5km traffic snarls too. Unwind in the coffee plantations of Yercaud. But get wound up in its parking crunch too. Tourism might be the lifeblood of Tamil Nadu’s hill towns, but it is also stretching them to their limits.Now, there’s a new ‘Hill Area Master Plan’ in the offing that aims to set things right. Better roads, parking, waste management and safer hill slopes could soon become a reality for residents and tourists in Tamil Nadu’s seven major hill towns, with the govt sanctioning `10.71 crore to prepare climate-resilient master plans for ecologically fragile regions.The housing and urban development department has accorded administrative and financial sanction for the plans covering 1,200sqkm across Udhagamandalam, Coonoor-Kotagiri, Gudalur, Nelliyalam, Kodaikanal, Valparai and Yercaud.