Animals and Nature Ethics Community Trust (ANEC), a Kochi-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), has petitioned senior officials of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Kerala Forest department, and the district disaster management authorities, alleging large-scale illegal construction within the Kottiyur-Periya elephant corridor in Wayanad, a critical elephant corridor in north Kerala, and urging their immediate intervention.
The NGO has alleged that commercial construction carried out under the name ‘Komachi Park’ at Boys Town in North Wayanad is obstructing the corridor, a vital ecological passage connecting forest ranges in Wayanad and Kannur districts. The site, located near the Palchuram ghat road crossing along the Kannur-Wayanad border, lies within 750 metres of the Kottiyoor Wildlife Sanctuary boundary and falls within the notified Eco Sensitive Zone (ESZ), the petition said.
It said that the project included several high-footfall tourism and recreational facilities, including amusement rides, a swimming pool, an aviary housing exotic birds, private villas, a resort, and banquet facilities. ANEC claimed that the complex was located at the narrowest bottleneck of the elephant corridor, measuring less than 50 metres in width, which it described as the only viable passage for elephant movement between adjoining forest blocks.
In addition, the petition flagged the site’s proximity to the Ambayathode stream, a tributary of the Valapattanam river, and noted that the construction was situated on the steep western slopes of the Western Ghats at an elevation of around 2,400 feet from the sea level. Citing disaster management norms, ANEC warned that large-scale development in the area could escalate landslide risks and exacerbate human-elephant conflicts.
The ANEC referred to a communication issued by the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) in December 2025, which forwarded earlier complaints on the issue to the district collectors of Wayanad and Kannur for urgent examination. However, it alleged that the authorities had not acted so far despite the matter being a public safety concern. The letter cited provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and constitutional duties under Articles 48A and 51A(g) as well as the Supreme Court directions prohibiting construction in notified and functional elephant corridors.
Seeking urgent action, ANEC called for an immediate halt to construction, a site inspection, a review of corridor restoration measures, and submission of an action-taken report within a month.
Published – January 30, 2026 08:26 pm IST
