KOCHI: The High Court has stayed the state government’s directive to the Kottayam district collector to acquire 2,263.13 acres of land with the Cheruvally Estate for the proposed Sabarimala airport. The court posted the case on July 21.The court issued the order on the petition filed by Ayana Charitable Trust, Tiruvalla, challenging the order. The trust said the decision to acquire the land with a directive not to pay compensation to the petitioner but to deposit it in the court was a violation of Article 300A of the Constitution. The trust termed all the action against it and the estate vindictive.
“The government issued the order without jurisdiction,” said the trust, which also said the land acquisition decision was taken without conducting a social impact study. The trust said a division bench of the High Court had quashed the order of a special officer of the government for initiating land conservancy proceedings. The government then filed a civil suit seeking to declare title over the estate and for recovery of possessions. Recently, a single judge had ordered that not to forcibly dispossess the petitioner from occupation of the land, the trust submitted.