Kakarla Usha issues notification covering over 10,000 hectares for elephant movement

Kakarla Usha, the Additional Chief Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forests, signed a notification that officially designates three elephant corridors in the Hosur forest region of Tamil Nadu. The document protects more than 10,300 hectares of forest and sanctuary land, ensuring uninterrupted movement for elephant herds between the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

The notification lists three specific routes: Jwalagiri‑Ulibanda‑Thagatti (18.5 km, 3,241.53 ha), Jwalagiri‑Panai‑Anchetti (20.9 km, 6,881.47 ha), and Bilikal‑Jwalagiri (2.2 km, 196 ha). All three corridors lie within already declared reserve forests, so the order does not modify the current land‑use classification or impose fresh restrictions on local communities. However, the formal status is expected to elevate the corridors’ priority in conservation planning, facilitate better coordination among forest officials, and guard against future infrastructure projects that could block elephant travel.

The move was prompted by a Madras High Court interim order and the findings of expert committees on wildlife connectivity. By embedding the corridors in the state’s legal framework, the government aims to strengthen long‑term landscape planning, improve wildlife monitoring, and mitigate human‑elephant encounters in villages adjacent to the routes. The notification will appear in both the Tamil Nadu Gazette and the Krishnagiri district Gazette, completing the official procedure.