Once functioning as a stable for horses of the British army during 19th century, the dilapidated tile-roofed Forest Range office on the West Main Road on the outskirts of Arani town in Tiruvannamalai will soon get its own building.
The District Forest Officer, Mr. Arul Lal, has written to the Collector B. Murugesh to transfer the existing 0.28 hectare of land where the range office is located from the Department of Prisons to the Forest Department to construct a new building at a cost of ₹20 lakh. “We have got a positive response from the district administration for the project. We hope that the required land for the new office will be transferred to us soon,” Mr. Arun Lal told The Hindu.
Located on the premises of the palace built in 1850, the forest range office has been functioning from a small room since 1973 when Polur range office was bifurcated. Since then, the office has been catering to the needs of at least 20 forest staff. As per norms, a forest range office should have a separate cabin for the range officer, weapons room, records room, visitors hall and a washroom. However, the British era stable has only one room.
