Balance between environment and development must: Collector

ERODE: Development activities should not be at the cost of nature and the two has to go hand in hand, Collector T. Udhayachandran has said.

Participating at the Wild Life Week celebrations organised by the Forest department here on Monday, he said, “There has to be a fine balance between nature and development.”

In the same breath, the Collector added man had no right to destroy nature, and asked, “Where has he arrogated the rights from?”

He then referred to the Thirukazhukundram temple in Kancheepuram district, where vultures had stopped visiting to eat the food the priest offered, to drive home the point that human activity had taken its toll on wildlife.

Appreciating students who won prizes at competitions organised by the department as part of the celebrations, he suggested two Tamil books ‘Oru sittu-kuruviyin veezhchi’ and ‘Kaanurai vengai’ to wild life enthusiasts.

Create awareness

Conservator of Forests P. Durairasu said sustainable development was the order of the day. He urged students to create awareness in their individual capacity as well as in groups, and promised the department’s support.

District Forest Officer, Sathyamangalam, S. Ramasubramanian, said the misconception that the Forest department was anti-development was not true.

The department only enforced the rules and regulations, which was its duty.

To drive home his point, Mr. Ramasubramanian said the department had 20,000 persons in its forest development committees and had helped many a tribal community. Honorary Wild Life Warden P. Kandasamy, District Forest Officer, Erode, V. S. Malik and Chief Education Officer, Erode, P. Ramaraj participated.