Setback for CPI(M) after Sabarimala land acquisition quashed by Kerala HC

Thiruvananthapuram: In a setback to the Sabarimala greenfield airport project, the Kerala High Court has quashed the land acquisition measures citing that land in excess was being acquired.

Considering a petition of Ayana Charitable Trust, formerly known as Gospel for Asia, a single bench of Justice C Jayachandran ordered on December 19 that a fresh social impact assessment (SIA) should be carried out as the initial SIA violated the norms that only bare minimum land required for a project should be acquired.

The Kerala government was going ahead with acquisition of 2,570 acres of land, which comprised 2,263 acres of Cheruvally estate which was in the possession of the Ayana Charitable Trust and 307 acres from adjacent areas.

The HC order is a political setback for the CPM government in Kerala as it has been highlighting the work of Sabarimala airport as one of the major infrastructure projects. The land acquisition of the project was earlier caught up in legal issues as the state government had raised objections against the sale of the Cheruvally estate by Harrison Malayalam Plantation to the Gospel for Asia founded by K P Yohannan.

The proposed site is 50 kilometres from Sabarimala Ayyappa temple. Apart from catering to the pilgrims, the airport project was also projected to cater to the considerable NRI population from Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts as well as tourists to the nearby popular destinations like Munnar in Idukki.

The HC pointed out that as per the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 only absolute bare- minimum extent of land required for a project should be acquired. The court pointed out that even for operating the highest type of aircraft the land required for an airport is 1200 acres. Hence the additional land required for the proposed Sabarimala airport needs to be explained.

The court also suggested that technical experts having know-how on airport projects should be including the SIA team.