The New Indian Express ·
Nilgiris collector seeks handover of e-pass enforcement to cops
NILGIRIS: Nilgiris District Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Taneeru has urged the Madras High Court to consider directing the police or another competent authority to take over the operational control and enforcement of the e-pass system, citing various concerns, including the safety of women members of self-help groups (SHGs) deployed to handle e-pass verification at checkposts.
The district collector, in a status report filed recently before a special division bench comprising Justices N Sathish Kumar and D Bharatha Chakravarthy, informed the court that several vehicles were entering the Nilgiris without valid e-passes. She also sought appropriate action, including penalties, against such vehicles.
The collector further proposed separating anti-plastic checks from the e-pass verification process and shifting them to the forest department checkpost at Kallar, located around 800 metres away. She suggested entrusting the responsibility to the forest staff of the Coimbatore Forest Division and implementing district forest officer (DFO), Coimbatore, for better coordination and effective implementation.
