MADURAI: Madras high court on Thursday granted a stay regarding the dispossession of 130 people from Chinna Udaippu village in Madurai district, following a plea challenging eviction proceedings for the expansion of Madurai airport.
A division bench of justice M S Ramesh and justice A D Maria Clete passed the interim order while hearing a petition filed by P Malairajan and 129 other residents of Chinna Udaippu village. The judges sought a response from the state and adjourned the hearing to Dec 19.
The petitioners stated that 350 families belonging to the scheduled caste community reside in Chinna Udaippu village.
A notification was issued in 2009 to acquire land for the expansion of Madurai airport. In 2013, notifications were issued for fixing the compensation for the land parcels acquired. Similar notifications were issued in 2017 and 2018, and the process continued until 2020.
The process of distributing compensation was completed by 2023. However, compensation was not disbursed to 30 people whose land parcels were acquired.
They stated that during the land acquisition process, the authorities never initiated any proper plan or scheme for resettlement and rehabilitation. The compensation amount was meagre compared to the market value.
The authorities failed to follow the procedures contemplated under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act and the Tamil Nadu Acquisition of Land for Industrial Purposes Act.
The petitioners stated that the authorities are attempting to forcefully evict the villagers. The villagers submitted a representation seeking alternative land, construction of new houses, and a govt job for one member of every household. However, the authorities failed to provide rehabilitation and resettlement to the villagers.
The petitioners noted that earlier, 257 people filed a petition seeking to prevent the authorities from evicting them without providing proper rehabilitation and resettlement. A single bench granted an interim injunction restraining the authorities from evicting the people, and the case was posted on Dec 12.
Since the authorities initiated the land acquisition proceedings under Section 4(2) and 4(3) of the Tamil Nadu Acquisition of Land for Industrial Purposes Act, 1997 without conforming to the safeguards provided under Section 38 along with Schedule 2 and Schedule 3 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013, the petitioners sought to stay all further proceedings.
