The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : Accord with AAI: land owners happy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 01, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

Accord with AAI: land owners happy

Staff Reporter

They agreed to acquisition if market value is provided

Coimbatore: Owners of 62.3 acres (including 23.87 acres at Singanallur) of lease lands who were fighting an unending battle with Airports Authority of India (AAI) for release of their lands on lease and payment of lease rent arrears are happy with the settlement arrived on August 22.

Tri-partite meeting

The District Collector, Neeraj Mittal, ordered a tri-partite meeting to end the five- to six-decade problem. The meeting was held at the Revenue Divisional Officer's office in the presence of District Revenue Officer, V. Subramanian, and Revenue Divisional Officer, G.S. Ramadoss.

Those who attended the meeting were: AAI Executive Director, New Delhi, V.C. Parthasarathy, Law Manager, AAI - Southern Region, I.P. Manoharan and Airport Director (in charge), R.S. D'Cruz, Senior Manager (Land), AAI, C.V. Ramanathan besides landowners from Singanallur and Kalapatti villages.

The meeting was to find out an amicable solution to the issue, which the landowners in both villages have been fighting with the AAI through the revenue department. Their lands were acquisitioned under the Defence of India Rules in 1939 for the purpose of war.

Subsequently, the release of lands was ordered in 1987 under the Requisition and Acquisition of Immovable Properties Act of 1952. Since then the landowners have been seeking the release of land as well as payment of lease rent arrears.

According to P.R. Jagannathan, Secretary of the Landowners Association, the meeting decided to settle the issue as follows: Rs. 10 an acre as lease rent an annum till 1987.

From 1987 to 2004, it was decided to enhance the lease rent to five per cent as against the earlier fixation of two per cent by the revenue administration. From 2004 to till date, it was decided to fix the lease rent at five per cent of the market value of the land and this market value will have to be fixed by the revenue officials after going through the records at the registration department.

It was also decided that the lease amount from 1987 to 2003 would be disbursed within three months. The landowners said the AAI had been requested to release the remaining arrears from 2003 to till date within the same three-month time frame.

It is learnt that the landowners have agreed in principle to the acquisition if the AAI came forward to provide the market value of the lands prevailing as on date.

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