Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Tamil Nadu has notified Arittapatti and Meenakshipuram villages in Madurai district as the first biodiversity heritage site aimed at preserving the rich biological repository in the region, the government said on Tuesday. The village Arittapatti consists of a chain of seven barren granite hillocks. The distinctive landscape of rocky hills acts as a watershed and supports 72 lakes, 200 natural spring pools and three checkdams. The Tamil Nadu government has notified 193.215 hectares of land area in Arittapatti and Meenakshipuram villages in Madurai district as the 'Arittapatti Biodiversity Heritage site' under the Biological Diversity Act of 2002, Additional Chief Secretary, Environment, Climate Change and Forest Department, Supriya Sahu said. India News | TN Notifies First Biodiversity Heritage Site in Madurai.