Date:17/11/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/11/17/stories/2007111752790600.htm

Front Page

Supreme Court clears decks for petrochemical park

J. Venkatesan

“Implementation of project will be in public interest”
“We will not interfere with the High Court judgment”

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday cleared the decks for establishment of a Rs.30,000-crore petrochemical park at Ennore near Chennai by dismissing a batch of petitions challenging acquisition of land for the project.

Observing that implementation of the project will be in public interest, a Bench of the Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice R.V. Raveendran dismissed the special leave petitions filed by the Ennore Pullicat Environment Protection Forum; Ramgopal Estates Pvt.Ltd; Anand Transport; K.B. Bhaskar and others against a Madras High Court judgment. The Bench said “we will not interfere with the judgment,” while upholding the land acquisition. Senior counsel T.L.Viswanatha Iyer and counsel K.K. Mani argued that the petitioners’ lands were acquired without an enquiry invoking the urgency clause. This had vitiated the acquisition proceedings.

State Additional Advocate General N. Kannadasan submitted that the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation had taken possession of about 7,155 acres and the lands of the petitioners were in bits and pieces. All the clearances and approvals had been obtained for the project envisaged in 1997. It would provide direct employment to about 10,000 engineers and technically qualified persons and indirect job opportunity to over 25,000 people.

Besides questioning the manner of land acquisition, the petitioners contended that implementation of the project would endanger environment.

The High Court dismissed a batch of petitions in March 2007 holding that the project could not take off due to legal proceedings. It said not only had the estimated cost escalated due to passage of time, but the related economic growth and social development also got deeply imbedded in the mire litigations.