Also affected are the local tribal communities, who depend on these resorts for livelihood. So how did the Masinagudi area get embroiled in a protracted court case, and what is the elephant in the room the locals claim the “foreign NGOs” have missed? The court battle The October Supreme Court judgment came on 32 appeals filed by resorts and private land owners, including actor Mithun Chakraborty, under the banner of Hospitality Association of Mudumalai, against a Madras High Court verdict of 2011. The High Court had upheld a Tamil Nadu government order notifying the elephant corridor in the area that included Masinagudi.