Days before polls, Madras High Court quashes land acquisition proceedings for Chennai-Salem Expressway

The Madras High Court on Monday quashed the proceedings of land acquisition for the 8-lane Chennai-Salem Expressway project that was announced in early 2018 by the AIADMK. The court said that the project requires a mega realignment as the proposed route would have an adverse effect on environment.

A special bench of Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice Bhavani Subbarayan passed the order allowing a batch of petitions by 35 land owners and PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss.

With an estimated cost of Rs 10,000 crore, this infrastructure project had been a major political issue in the southern state that goes to polls on April 18.

The project had been facing stiff opposition from farmers and environmentalists.

The proposed 8-lane 277-km greenfield expressway was aimed at cutting down travel time between Chennai and Salem by a little over two hours and reducing the distance by around 68 kilometres. As per the Detailed Project Report (DPR), it was meant to pass via five districts, namely Kanchipuram, Tiruvannamalai, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri and Salem.

However, the project faced opposition from various groups on the grounds that the 7500 acres of land, which will be acquired for the project, includes agricultural land, villages, orchards, and reserve forests. Land acquisition and compensation for the same were major roadblocks. The protesters were also of the opinion that this project would not be necessary as there are three highways currently connecting the state's capital city with Salem.

While the AIADMK government led by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisami was keen on having this project implemented, the opposition party DMK had stood with the protesters and also said that they were against its implementation. Interestingly, PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss was among those who had earlier filed a case against the project. But despite their differences, the PMK in February joined hands with the AIAMDK-BJP alliance in Tamil Nadu and will be contesting from seven seats.

Speaking to reporters after the verdict this morning, Advocate Kamaraj who represented the farmers said, "This verdict is for the farmers and the public and it would cause a setback for the state government."

Reacting to the verdict, while campaigning in his constituency Dharmapuri, PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss said, "Though we are in an alliance with the AIADMK, we are against this project and support the cause of the farmers."

The court had on December 14, 2018, reserved orders on the batch of petitions, challenging land acquisition proceedings.