MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Friday ordered the residents of Chinna Udaippu village, whose lands were acquired by the state for the upgradation of Madurai airport as an international airport, to vacate their lands within two weeks, failing which the state can forcibly take possession.
The court further directed the Madurai collector to allot two cents land each to eligible residents within two weeks of receiving consent letter from them, adding that the state should issue orders to construct free houses for them as agreed to by it before the court.
A bench of justices G Jayachandran and KK Ramakrishnan passed the order on a batch of petitions, which stated that nearly 350 families belonging to Scheduled Caste were living in Chinna Udaippu since time immemorial. The state announced its proposal to acquire their lands for the airport expansion in 2009 and acquired it in a phased manner from 2018 onwards by paying a meagre amount.
Though the process was completed by 2023, nearly 30 residents have not been paid compensation and not even one was given an alternate house, land or any form of rehabilitation, they alleged. The senior counsel representing them pointed out that continuance of the acquisition proceedings initiated under the TN Acquisition of Land for Industrial Purposes Act, 1997 wasillegal in view of the Revival Act 38 of 2019, especially in the absence of new rules relating to rehabilitation and resettlement.
But additional advocate general Veera Kathiravan argued that over 2,400 residents, including the petitioners, have already received compensation for the land acquisition nearly a decade ago under the relevant Acts, but still refuse to vacate the area.
The state, in order to address their grievances, is also ready to provide eligible persons free house sites for them in the Perungudi village as a welfare measure, he said.
The judges observed criticised the petitioners for, under the guise of caste, continuously preventing the government from taking possession of the properties despite its ‘magnanimous’ offer of additional compensation and free house site. This amounts to unjust enrichment and abuse of process of law, the bench said.