Kochi: The Kerala High Court has issued a stay on the government order to acquire the Cheruvally estate land for the Sabarimala airport.
The court has stayed the order till July 21, when it will again hear a petition challenging the June 18 order issued by the revenue principal secretary to take over the land for the proposed airport.
Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar issued the interim order on a petition filed by Ayana Charitable Trust, also known as Gospel for Asia, challenging the government order.
The revenue department order had directed the Kottayam district collector to initiate proceedings to acquire the estate spread over 2,226 acres near Erumely.
But, since the ownership of the land is in dispute and the matter is in court, the government had ordered that the property be taken over as per Section 77 of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, by depositing the compensation amount in court.
However, the petitioner alleged that the government cannot instruct compensation to be deposited in court and that the order exceeded the state’s jurisdictional authority.
The government cannot proceed with the land acquisition without conducting a social impact study, the petitioner said. The order was unconstitutional and issued with a male fide intention, the petitioner alleged, and demanded that it should be withdrawn.
It said the trust was entitled to compensation for the land.
During the hearing, there was discussion on why the government wanted to acquire the land as per the 2013 Act when it was involved in an ownership dispute with the trust over the property.
The government told the court that the 2013 Act was invoked since acquiring the land will require paying compensation for the plantation activities that are being carried out on the land.
The Gospel for Asia has been maintaining that it is the owner of the estate. It said that it had purchased the land from Harrisons Malayalam Limited.
But, a committee appointed by the government under M G Rajamanickam in 2013 to review plantations on long-term leasehold had said that the sale was not valid since Harrison Malayalam’s possession of the land was illegal. It had recommended that the state should take over the land.
Then, when the government planned an airport in Sabarimala, a committee appointed to recommend the location had suggested the estate.
An earlier attempt by the government to take over the land as per the Rajamanickam report was struck down by the high court. It had said the ownership dispute should be settled in a civil court.
The ownership case is now in a civil court.
