The Madras High Court has mandated that all motor vehicles wishing to enter the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal between May 7 and June 30 must obtain electronic passes, or e-passes. This will assist the district administrations in gathering data on the quantity and kind of vehicles entering the two hill stations, the number of summer visitors, and other pertinent information.
However, a special Division Bench made up of Justices N. Sathish Kumar and D. Bharatha Chakravarthy clarified that residents should be exempt from getting e-passes and that the Nilgiris and Dindigul Collectorates should be able to issue them without restriction. Additionally, the Collectors were instructed to promote the e-pass system widely.
The judges instructed the Collectors to gather as much data as they could, including the type of vehicle, how many people are riding in it, whether they plan to stay overnight or just for a day, and so on. They also mentioned that before issuing the e-passes, the recommendations of the amici curiae, Chevanan Mohan, Rahul Balaji, and M. Santhanaraman, could be taken into consideration.
The judges further stated that the two Collectors should investigate the possibility of connecting a payment gateway to the e-pass system so that the applicants could pay the toll fees online with the help of the Information Technology Department. This would save fuel and cut down on carbon emissions in addition to preventing cars from accumulating for hours on end near checkpoints.
Advocate-General P.S. Raman stated that Professors Amar Sapra of the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) and Sachin Gunte of the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M), who were tasked with conducting scientific research to determine the carrying capacity of the ghat roads, would greatly benefit from the data that was to be gathered.
Justice Kumar proposed the idea of an e-pass, citing a COVID-19 pandemic-era system that was implemented statewide. Subsequently, you prohibited any car from entering the Nilgiris without a legitimate cause. Now, you can use the system to get real information on the tourists that are visiting the hill stations instead of imposing such a restriction,” he said.
The judges were shocked to learn from a status report submitted by the State government that, during the summer months, eight check posts at Kallar, Kunjapanai, Nadugani, Kakkanallah, Thalur, Choladi, Geddai, and Pattavayal allow about 20,000 vehicles (11,500 cars, 1,300 vans, 600 buses, and 6,500 two-wheelers) to enter the Nilgiris every day. With all the traffic, some questioned how elephants would manage to cross the street.
Judge Chakravarthy voiced alarm over the Nilgiris’s extreme drought, saying that even locals were having trouble finding water. He questioned how tourists would get water in such conditions, given that Udhagamandalam (Ooty), Connoor, Kotagiri, Gudalur, and Nellivalam could host over 20,000 visitors at once.
