The project has sparked protests from farmers against the acquisition of 5,000 acre farmland.
A road project in Tamil Nadu that will reduce travel time between Chennai and the city of Salem overcame a major hurdle today as the Supreme Court allowed the acquisition of agricultural land, with opposition from farmers along the route. planned.
The Rs 10 billion Chennai-Salem highway project had been delayed by an order from the Madras High Court last year, which canceled the land acquisition. That order was challenged by the National Highway Authority before the Supreme Court, which has now annulled it.
The eight-lane highway, some 277 km long, connects Chennai and Salem, the home district of Tamil Nadu’s chief minister, E Palaniswamy, about 366 km from the state capital, under a central scheme. Their goal is to reduce travel time between cities from six to three hours.
Today the central government was allowed to restart land acquisition in accordance with environmental regulations. But the Supreme Court said the process must start over.
The Madras High Court had canceled the project at the request of PV Krishnamoorthy (WHO IS HE) and others, including PMK’s Anbumani Ramadoss, who is an AIADMK ally of the Chief Minister.
The project, which will traverse forests and hills, has sparked mass protests with farmers who oppose the acquisition of 5,000 acres of mostly fertile farmland.
They argue that growing demand for food is more important than traffic needs, and they demand that existing largely four-lane highways be widened, which they claim do not see any heavy traffic in the region.
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