MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently ordered status quo against the land acquisition proceedings initiated by the state government for the establishment of the Aerospace Industrial Park in Athiyakurichi village in Thoothukudi.
A two-judge bench passed the interim order on a petition filed by G T Chandrasekaran, secretary of a local farmers’ association. Chandrasekaran said the government has proposed to acquire 985.75 acres of patta lands and 26.5 acres of poramboke lands, for the project under the Tamil Nadu Acquisition of Land for Industrial Purposes Act, 1997. He said the acquisition would affect the local population. The same project was introduced previously and following protests by the villagers, peace committee talks were held in September 2023 and the project was to be dropped.
The government has acquired substantial amount of lands for various other projects including 2,350 acres for the Kulasekarapattinam rocket launch site, resulting in the displacement of many villagers, he added. He also wanted the court to ensure that the villagers are safeguarded and rehabilitated sufficiently before the government proceeds with the land acquisition. The case was adjourned to March 20.