New Delhi, June 2 -- The Supreme Court has ordered the immediate removal of encroachers and demolition of illegal structures across the ecologically sensitive Agasthyamalai landscape in South India, directing stringent disciplinary, penal and criminal action against officials who facilitated or permitted unlawful infrastructure inside forest areas and warning that paramilitary forces may be deployed if state authorities fail to enforce its directions.

The Agasthyamalai landscape is a biodiversity-rich forested region spanning parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, comprising several protected areas including tiger reserves and wildlife sanctuaries in the southern Western Ghats.

A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued a compreh...