e pass mandatory for tourist vehicles to ooty kodaikanal

The Tamil Nadu government has filed a review petition against the Madras High Court order to make e-pass mandatory for tourist vehicles going to Ooty and Kodaikanal. The state government suggested that the court should determine the maximum number of vehicles permitted daily only after submitting the report by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and Indian Institute of Sciences (IISC) Bengaluru. The court has set a limit of vehicles for the summer season between April and June this year; For Ooty, this limit is 6,000 vehicles in the week and 8,000 vehicles over the weekend, while for Kodaikanal this limit is 4,000 vehicles in the week and 6,000 vehicles in the weekend. However, the government argued that scientific studies were required before imposing more restrictions.

IIT Madras and IISc Bangalore are currently studying to assess optimal tourist capacity for these popular hill stations. The state government has said that any regulation on vehicle entry should be based on empirical findings rather than arbitrary sanctions. There was a sharp response to the e-pass order of the High Court, which came into force from 1 April, due to which shops in Ooty were closed yesterday, as local traders and business owners opposed the move. He expressed concern that restrictions could affect their business and livelihood.

The Madras High Court is about to hear the review petition of the Tamil Nadu government tomorrow. The state has urged the court to consider waiting for an expert report before setting a certain limit for tourist vehicles.