MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently refused to halt a link road — Rajapalayam - Sankarankovil - Tirunelveli to Tirumangalam - Kollam Road — in Virudhunagar district.
A division bench of Justices R Suresh Kumar and G Arul Murugan, while dismissing Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petitions filed by NA Ramachandra Raja and PAS Krishnamma Rajha said that the petitioners challenged the notification issued under Section 15 (1) of Tamil Nadu Highways Act for the project, as no prior environmental clearance was obtained as mandated under Clause 7 (f) of the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006. The EIA is required as Rajapalayam is situated near the Western Ghats and has many important water bodies and wetlands which are used for farming.
Secondly, the formation of a link road will not serve any purpose, as there is already an existing link road — PACR Salai linking SH-41 and NH-744. Since Rajapalayam municipality has been declared and brought under the planning area under Section 10 of the TCP Act, the proposed project cannot be implemented as it does not form part of the roads provided under the master plan, the petitioners submitted.
The state government’s counsel said that technical experts proposed the link road after a detailed study, considering the importance and necessity of the link road to avoid traffic congestion. Moreover, no prior environmental clearance is required for the road as it is just 2 kilometres long. After the proceedings are completed, the authority concerned would inform the local planning authority before executing the work. Further, the proposed link road does not disturb any waterbody and is built by acquiring lands as per the procedure. A major portion of the compensation has been paid and the land owners have not objected to the project, the counsel said.
The court said that as the compensation has been disbursed, the project, initiated in 2018 and approved as early May 2022, has been stalled due to the petitions.
"Any further delay would adversely affect public interest and may increase project cost. The state can go ahead and implement the link road project," the court said.