Varsha Sriram

NHAI appealed to the Supreme Court on May 31 against Madras High Court’s order

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant interim relief to the NHAI (National Highway Authority of India) against the Madras High Court’s order on quashing the land acquisition process for the Chennai-Salem eight-lane Greenfield corridor project. 

The matter was taken up by the Supreme Court’s vacation bench comprising of justices Indu Malhotra and M.R Shah. The bench also issued notices to the respondents; including the state government, farmers and former MP Anbumani Ramadoss, asking them to reply within a month explaining their position. 

“We are going to leave notes on the special leave petition (SLP)…We are not going to stay the High Court’s order,” the vacation bench said, reported by PTI.

While speaking to Puthiya Thalaimurai, Prabhu, an advocate appearing on behalf of an affected farmer, said that the Supreme Court said they would give a stay. “They expressed shock and asked the government how did you start land acquisition without issuing a notification? The court also asked how they would reassemble the trees uprooted for this, if they lost their case in court. They replied stating that they had a strong case.” 

The 10,000 crore Chennai-Salem eight-lane Greenfield corridor, a project initiated by the Government of Tamil Nadu first came into light in February 2018 when the Chief Minister of the state Eddapadai K Palanisami wrote a letter to the then Minister for Road, Transport, highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari and immediately got a nod from the Centre. The proposed 277.3-km-long eight-lane project under the Centre’s Bharatmala Paiyojana scheme aims to cut travel time between the two cities by half to about two hours and 15 minutes. 

However the project has been facing stiff opposition from a section of locals, farmers and environmentalists, and political parties as several acres of agricultural lands and trees will be affected due to the project. The project runs through reserve forests and water bodies.

In a big-blow to the Eddapadi-led AIADMK government, The High Court in April quashed the land acquisition proceedings for the controversial project. The order came on a batch of petitions filed by 35 landowners and PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss, who later ironically joined AIADMK’s hands for the Lok Sabha elections. 

 The court had held that environmental clearance was mandatory for the sensitive project since the project would have an adverse impact on the environment, including in water bodies. 

“We are of the considered view that the highway project as conceived and sought to be implemented is vitiated on several grounds…and consequently, the notifications issued for acquisition of land under Section 3A(1) (of the National Highways Act) are liable to be quashed,” said the High Court. 

Two months after the High Court’s order, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on May 31 appealed to the Supreme Court challenging the High Court’s verdict. Seeking interim relief in the case, the NHAI requested that the SC stay the verdict in order to enable continuation of land acquisition proceedings and environmental impact.