Nanaiah cries foul on 'Coorg Village'

Former Minister M C Nanaiah has charged that ‘Coorg Village’ is not more than a money-laundering project.

Addressing reporters here on Tuesday, he said that ‘Coorg Village’, being constructed in a land belonging to the Horticultural department near Raja Seat, is the brainchild of a handful of selfish people and definitely not in public interest.

“The deputy commissioner should intervene and stop the project immediately,” said Nanaiah and warned of writing to the Lokayukta about the alleged illegality.

He further said, “Kodagu district has been ravaged by floods for two continuous years. When things are turning normal, it is not correct to destroy nature and build the stalls under the pretext of promotion of tourism”.

The former minister recalled that the land which is next to Raja Seat originally belonged to his ancestors.

The land was eventually purchased by the government to facilitate water supply to Raja Seat, as there was a natural lake in the land. The said land has a good amount of trees and groundwater. The construction of Coorg Village will destroy the ecosystem and will turn it into a garbage dumping yard, he said.

“Some people have been destroying the genuine purpose for which the land was meant. Now, stalls are being constructed at a cost of Rs 98 lakh by the tourism department. This was not needed for tourism. Instead, one could have constructed a walking path by retaining the original landscape and beauty of the area. The Coorg Village should be shelved immediately” said Nanaiah.

He also condemned the illegal activities being carried out in the homestays in Kodagu.

Clarifying that he is not against homestays, Nanaiah stressed on the need to run them in a legal way.

“Unfortunately, most of the 3,500 homestays in Kodagu have become centres of illegal activities.”

He pointed out that the natural hills in Kodagu are being levelled to construct resorts.

The geologists themselves have confirmed that the destruction of natural landscapes has been the main reason for landslides. It is the high time for the wrongdoers to realise and correct their actions, he added.