The Confederation of Environment Associations of Nilgiris (CEAN-Kotagiri chapter) has alleged that some tea estates in the district are in violation of the Tamilnadu Land Reforms (fixation of ceiling of land) Act, 1961.
In a press release, Surjit K. Chaudhary, retired IAS officer and Chairperson of CEAN, said that the act governs the maximum amount of agricultural land that a family or an individual can hold in the State, enacted to “reduce disparities in land ownership” and “prevent the concentration of land in a few hands.”
Mr. Chaudhary said that some tea estates in the district have deviated from tea cultivation to residential and commercial purposes, which is in violation of the existing laws. CEAN stated that estates at Yedapalli in Coonoor and other areas in the district were being transformed for non-tea cultivation purposes.
Raising questions as to how officials had given approvals for these diversions, Mr. Chaudhary has sent a letter to the district Collector with a detailed list of diversions and questions about how permissions were granted.
He called for all individual power connections and power for street lights on properties built in tea estates to be disconnected, while all roads should be declared illegal and blocked. He also called for a list of all tea estates that have violated the law to be drawn up and registration of parcelled lands be declared illegal.
Published – November 04, 2025 06:23 pm IST
