495 families adjacent to tiger sanctuary should be relocated immediately, animals have right to live without fear, crucial order of Madras High Court 

CHENNAI: The high court has ordered the evacuation and relocation of all people from the village adjacent to the tiger sanctuary. The order was passed by the special forest bench of the Madras High Court. Justice N Sathish Kumar and D Bharata Chakraborty clarified that animals also have the right to live without fear. The court order also mentioned that the government has a legal duty to protect all living things.

The court directed the central government to allow funds to the national tiger conservation authority within the next two months to relocate the villagers. As per the order, 495 families of Tengumarahada village in Tamil Nadu, adjacent to the Muthumalai Tiger Sanctuary, will have to be relocated. 74.25 crore from the central fund is needed for this. The court also ordered that the Tamil Nadu Forest Department should receive the amount in two months. The court criticized the central government for not allowing funds to evacuate the people. The court order was announced on August 8. In the order, the court hinted that the Tamil Nadu Forest Department had proposed the relocation of people in Muthumalai in 2011, but it was not implemented due to shortage of funds.