Makara Jothi & Makara Vilakku

First of all Makara Vilakku and Makara Jyothi are two different things.
One is the star which is worshipped, and other is symbolically lit in a place called Ponnambalamedu.
The most significant rituals of worship are performed at Makara Sankaranthi day which is every 14th of January.

Makarajyoti
It is a star which is visible from the Sabarimala Shrine and surrounding areas on the day of Makar Samkranti and its vision is considered as auspicious on that day by the devotees.

Makara Vilakku
This is man made lights lit at the time of Deeparadhana at ponnambalamedu (on the eastern horizon)

It is being lit there in commemoration of the aarathi performed first by parashurama ,Devrishis and Devas at the time of revelation of Swami Ayyappa

These celebrations were doing by tribal people every year on the Makara samkranthi day.

ie;When the makara jyothi(the star) come on the sky they were doing aarathi to God(3 times). But later on 80's tribals moved away from that place - (or they forced to moved out from there by KSEB ,police and devaswam) and later this pooja being managed and continued by these departments as the part of the belief and as the part of natural transition ritually.

Government is not ready to stop this man made aarathi b’cs they are afraid that revenue of sabarimala may go down .At least they should ready to reveal the details of this process to devotees instead of doing like this. Devotees has every right to know what exactly is happening behind the screen.