HC halts eviction of villagers for airport expansion

Madurai: Madras high court on Wednesday granted interim injunction restraining the authorities from evicting residents of Chinna Udaippu village in Madurai for land acquisition for the expansion of Madurai airport.
Justice N Mala passed the interim order while hearing the petition filed by P Malairajan of the village. The petitioner said 350 families belonging to scheduled caste community reside in Chinna Udaippu. More than 700 hectares of agricultural land and properties belonging to villagers were acquired for the construction of the airport since 1921.
He stated that a notification was issued in 2009 for land acquisition for the airport's expansion and patta land belonging to the villagers was to be acquired. In 2013, notifications were issued for fixing compensation for the land parcels acquired. Similar notifications were issued in 2017 and 2018, and the process went on until 2020. The process of distributing compensation was completed by 2023. However, compensation was not dispersed to 30 people whose land parcels were acquired.
He stated that during the land acquisition, the authorities never initiated any proper plan or scheme for resettlement and rehabilitation. The compensation amount was meagre when compared to the market value of the properties. The authorities failed to follow the procedures contemplated under Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act and the Tamil Nadu Acquisition of Land for Industrial Purposes Act.
The petitioner stated that the authorities are attempting to forcefully evict the villagers. The villagers submitted a representation to the authorities seeking alternative land, construction of new houses and a govt job for one member of every household. However, the authorities failed to provide rehabilitation and resettlement to the villagers. Hence, the petitioner moved court seeking a direction to the authorities to not evict them from the village. The hearing in the case was adjourned to December 12.