AIADMK to protest against draft elephant corridor plan of Tamil Nadu government

Chennai, May 6 (IANS) The principal Opposition party of Tamil Nadu, AIADMK is gearing up for a protest against the draft elephant corridor plan released by the Tamil Nadu government on April 29.

AIADMK leader and Gudalur MLA Pon Jayaseelan, while speaking to IANS, said that the draft plan was released hurriedly without taking the opinion of the stakeholders involved -- farmers and those living in the area earmarked as elephant corridors.

The AIADMK leader also said that there are discrepancies in the draft plan as Project Elephant, in its study, identifies 20 proposed elephant corridors in Tamil Nadu, while the final report identifies 42 elephant corridors in the state.

The principal Opposition party is concerned that the elephant corridors identified in the draft plan have several human habitations and that by declaring the elephant corridors, several human settlements will have to be demolished and people rehabilitated. This will affect the lives of several people.

Pon Jayaseelan said: "People should be given proper opportunities to air their views and opinion regarding the constitution of elephant corridors. If the new corridors affect the livelihood of people, there will be unrest. A responsible political party like AIADMK will have to make strong protest against this.”

AIADMK is planning a series of agitations in many parts of the state bordering the forest regions against the hurried issuance of the elephant corridor plan.