The resolution passed by the Udhagamandalam Municipal Council recently to upgrade the municipality to a Corporation has been met with criticism from citizens’ rights activists as well as environmentalists, who feel that the huge surge in ensuing infrastructure development could lead to widespread environmental damage to the Nilgiris’ fragile ecology.
The council, in the resolution, argued that the municipality, currently encompassing 36 wards spanning a total of 30.67 sq. km. as per 2011 records, had a population of 88,430 people. They, however, estimate that the population has grown to more than 1.23 lakh people in 2024.
The resolution went onto state that the town was one of Southern India’s most important tourist destinations and held a number of important landmarks, such as the Government Botanical Garden, Rose Garden, Ooty Lake and Boat House as well as Doddabetta Peak, both within the municipality limits and surrounding areas.
The resolution went onto add that anywhere between 50,000 to 80,000 visit Udhagamandalam every day during the summer tourism season, and the town hosts visitors from neighbouring districts in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka as well as tourists from across India.
The resolution envisages including Udhagamandalam Municipality, Ketti town panchayat and the village panchayats of Doddabetta, Nanjanad, Ithalar and Hullathy to form the proposed Corporation. They estimate that the revenue to the upgraded civic body, that currently stands at ₹4,394 lakh could increase to ₹5,214 lakh with the expansion. The population will also increase to 1.93 lakh people with the inclusion of the new areas.
Among the benefits that would accrue to residents, the council speculates, is that the government spending on infrastructure would increase if the municipality was upgraded to a Corporation, which would trickle down to improve the lives of local residents and increase employment opportunities.
However, S. Manogaran, president of the Coonoor Consumer Protection Association, argues that any upgradation to the municipality will negatively affect not just the Nilgiris’ ecology, but also be detrimental to the lives of the residents who will be part of the expanded Corporation area. “Residents can expect to pay higher taxes, and even lose out on certain benefits such as cheaper access to government services,” argues Mr. Manogaran.
He said that instead of including village panchayats, located at varying distances from the centre of Udhagamandalam town, that the 35 village panchayats in the Nilgiris should be further sub-divided and reorganised into 93 minor panchayats. “This will ensure that the people living in these areas can get funds from both the State as well as Central governments for various schemes, as opposed to them now having to mainly rely on the State government only,” he said.
Mr. Manogaran also said the expanded area that was proposed to be included into the Udhagamandalam Corporation includes many tribal hamlets. “If these are included as part of the Corporation, we fear that the funds allocated for development works specifically targeted towards improving the lives of people in these communities too could diminish,” he said.
P. Egaraj, Municipal Commissioner, said that once upgraded, wider roads and more spending on public infrastructure on a par with bigger cities like Coimbatore could be expected in Udhagamandalam.
Such promises have further caused concern among the Nilgiris’ ecologists, many of whom want a more sustainable development model in the Nilgiris.
“The Nilgiris is already reeling from uncontrolled, haphazard developments and the impacts of massive, unscientific developments by the government. There is simply no need for an ecologically-sensitive area, to be subject to more spending on infrastructure and development projects that could jeopardise the district’s biodiversity and local ecology,” said a prominent conservationist from the Nilgiris.
Mr. Egaraj denied the apprehensions and said the upgradation would not necessarily translate to more threats to the local hill ecosystems. He said Udhagamandalam had been a municipality for over 37 years and that ideally, it should have been upgraded to a Corporation more than two decades ago.
