Kerala HC Directs Action Against Makers Of 'Unda' And Officials For Damage To Environment During Shooting [Read Judgment]

The makers of Mammootty-starrer 'Unda' has run into legal trouble with the High Court of Kerala directing the Central Government to take action under the Forest Act 1980 against the them and officials for environmental damage caused during the shooting of the film at Karudukka Reserve Forest in Kasargode.

The direction was passed by Justice Shaji P Chaly in a writ petition filed by an environmental activist Angels Nair, who alleged that the film producer 'Moviee Mills Productions'  was permitted to deposit gravel from outside and to construct a road inside the reserve forest. According to him, the forest officials granted permission in violation of the provisions of Forest Act, which prohibit putting non-forest activities inside forest land. The petitioner, who appeared as a party-in-person, also alleged that the shooting activities caused irreparable damage to the eco system by destroying a large number of species including millions of micro flora and fauna.

Based on the photographs produced by the petitioner, the Court observed that serious damages were caused to the environment.

"from Ext.P8 series of photographs, which are not under dispute, it is clear that serious damages have caused to the reserve forest consequent to the dumping of gravel in the forest area and making the road and the area more marshy which has interfered substantially with the natural environment and the bio-diversity in the area. Therefore, it cannot be said that the allegations made by the petitioner against the forest officials and the movie company are not true or correct", Justice Chaly said in the order.

The Court said that a "deep seated enquiry" by the Central Government was needed to unravel the issue.

M Rajeevan, the Divisional Forest Officer, Kasargode, who granted the permission, was added as a respondent in the case in personal capacity.  He said that permission was granted as per the guidelines issued by the Government for allowing film shooting inside forest land. The deposit of gravel was made on the coup road inside the forest, which was maintained by the department. Therefore, the deposit of gravel in that area has only helped the forest authorities and it has  saved the exchequer from spending money for the  maintenance of the coup road, the DFO argued.

The Court was not impressed by this line of argument. It observed :

"merely because permission was granted, the forest officials are not at liberty to overlook the duties and responsibilities, ensuring that the permission is not misused, and no manner of damages and adverse consequences are suffered to the bio-diversity, flora and fauna and the natural and serene atmosphere of the area. I do not think, the forest officials, after granting permission, were careful enough to undertake frequent inspections in the area for eliminating unnecessary interferences so as to materially affect the ecosystem"

As per Section 3A and 3B of the Forest Act, Central Government is the authority to take action against the erring officials or any other persons who have conducted themselves any non-forest activities in the reserve forest area.

Therefore, the Court directed the Central Government "to initiate action against the erring officials and the movie company for non-forest activities undertaken by them in the reserve forest area by depositing gravel and damaging the environment, bio-diversity and the flora and fauna, after making due enquiries".

If the damages caused due to the deposit of the gravel are not repaired, every step should be taken by the Central Government to ensure that the same is removed at the earliest and whatever cost suffered on account of the same should be realized from the movie company, the Court added. The State Government has been directed to give necessary assistance to Centre in this regard. The process has to be completed within four months.

The court, however, said that the petitioner's plea to cancel the certification of the movie by the Censor Board "cannot be sustained in view of the fact that permission for the movie shooting was granted by Divisional Forest Officer by charging fees on the basis of the government order of the year 2013."

It observed that the film shooting cannot be termed illegal as permission was granted by the Divisional Forest Officer.

"It is also clear that permission for transporting gravel was granted and it was accordingly that the movie company has deposited soil on the coup road. Hence the movie shooting as such cannot be said to be illegal, since permission was granted by the DFO, though the permission was misused which is liable to be corrected, censor procedure was completed and the movie was released also. But the forest officials after granting permission were not careful enough to undertake frequent inspections in the area for eliminating unnecessary interference so as to materially affect the eco system," said the order.

Directed by Khalid Rahman, 'Unda' tells the story of a group of policemen from Kerala who are deputed to election duty at Maoist-infested Bastar area in Chattisgarh.

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