Stalin hails HC ruling on Salem-Chennai highway project


PTI | Chennai | Updated: 08-04-2019 18:32 IST | Created: 08-04-2019 18:32 IST
Stalin hails HC ruling on Salem-Chennai highway project

Opposition DMK Monday welcomed the Madras High Court order quashing the land acquisition process for the Salem-Chennai green corridor project, saying it has dealt a 'death blow' to the K Palaniswami government in Tamil Nadu. PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss, one of the petitioners who challenged the Rs 10,000 crore worth project, hailed the court order and said the outcome was a 'victory' to his party and farmers.

DMK president and Leader of Opposition in the state assembly M K Stalin said the government should not prefer an appeal against the court ruling and demanded that the chief minister apologise to farmers for acquiring their land. "The court has dealt a death blow to the Palaniswami government which does not respect people's sentiments," Stalin alleged in a statement here.

Earlier in the day, a special bench of the high court quashed the land acquisition process for the project, holding it required a mega realignment as the proposed route would have an adverse effect on the environment. The bench of Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice Bhavani Subbarayan passed the order allowing a batch of petitions of 35 landowners and Ramadoss, whose party is now a constituent of the AIADMK-led NDA.

Stalin claimed the government paid no heed to the views of the farmers who did not want to part with their land and was keen on implementing the project with the help of the police. He also took a swipe at Ramadoss, saying "he has stopped talking" about the project after entering into an alliance with the AIADMK.

"Palaniswami should announce that an appeal will not be made against the court order," Stalin said and wanted to know if PMK would quit the alliance if the chief minister failed to give such an assurance. Ramadoss, a former union minister who represents Dharmapuri in the outgoing Lok Sabha, said the court order was a 'victory' to farmers and the legal battle taken forward by him.

Several parts of Dharmapuri district, neighbouring Salem in western Tamil Nadu, falls under the proposed project alignment. Ramadoss, who is seeking re-election from Dharmapuri in the April 18 Lok Sabha elections, said PMK had been steadfastly opposing the project since its announcement last year and criticised the DMK for not showing such an intent.

"People should understand the double talk of DMK in this issue. It did nothing to stop the project. In fact, Stalin had said in the state assembly that his party was not opposed to the project but only wanted it to be implemented with public's acceptance," he said in a statement. He also urged the Centre and state to not to file an appeal against the court order and assured the party's support to farmers on the issue.

The Salem-Chennai corridor is an ambitious 277.3-km long eight-lane greenfield project under the Centre's 'Bharatmala Pariyojana' scheme which aims to cut travel time between the two cities by half to about two hours and 15 minutes. However, it has has been facing opposition from a section of locals, including farmers, over fears of losing their land, besides environmentalists who were against felling of trees for the project..

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Give Feedback