Land acquisition done in accordance with law: Centre

Chennai: The Central government has informed Madras high court that land acquisition process for the proposed Chennai-Salem Greenfield Expressway has been done in accordance with law.

Additional solicitor general G Rajagopalan, appearing for ministry for environment, forest and climate change, made the submission before a division bench of Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Bhavani Subarayan when a batch of writ petitions challenging the eight lane project came up for hearing on Thursday.

He said the authorities are doing survey work required for obtaining environmental clearance from the concerned authority. The petitions opposing project cannot be moved on the basis of assumption that the government will violate rules.

Advocate-general Vijay Narayan, appearing for the state government, has also submitted that that the project is only at preliminary stage and there is no basis for any apprehension.

When the matter came up for hearing on July 18, the bench had restrained state government from using police force against the landowners who oppose the proposed project. Petitioner, Poovulagin Nanbargal, said that the 80 per cent of current alignment of the project passes through agricultural land and 10 per cent through reserved forest. As per the land acquisition notification, the authorities should have conducted public hearing in five districts. 

However, no such hearing had conducted by the authorities. This amounts to violation of Supreme Court directive. Another petitioner PMK MP Dr Anbumani Ramadoss also opposed the land acquisition process by the authorities for the project. The leader said the authorities had failed to undertake the impact of drilling tunnel at 3 places for forming a road over 3 kms in Jaruku Hills in Salem.