more-in Madurai The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has ordered an interim injunction against the National Highway Authority of India and the Kanniyakumari district authorities from taking possession of lands for widening a National Highway. A division bench of Justices N. Kirubakaran and R. Tharani observed that without issuing a notice under Section 3 (E) and without depositing compensation under Section 3 (H) (1) of the National Highways Act, 1956, the authorities could not take possession of the lands for constructing a highway. A total of 24 villagers from Kalkulam had moved the court seeking an injunction restraining the NHAI and the district authorities from taking possession of the lands. The petitioner complained that the authorities were trying to take possession of the village lands for conversion of the existing NH from Kanniyakumari to Thiruvananthapuram to a four-lane road. They contended that parts of Kaliyakkavilai, Marthandam and Thackalay, which formed part of the highway plan, were encroached by influential people. However, instead of removing the encroachments, an alternative route to realign the highway was proposed and this route would pass through the land of villagers, they said. The petitioners contended that under Section 3 A of the National Highway Act, 1956, an intention to acquire land for the purpose of a highway was not made and under Section 3 D (2) of the Act, the petitioners claimed it was not clear to them as to what extent lands were being acquired. The petitioners also claimed that an enquiry would be conducted for determining compensation for the acquisition of lands. However, no notice of the enquiry was issued and instead a notice asking them to vacate the land was issued, they said. Under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, compensation for the acquisition should be determined. But the officials had gone ahead and cut down trees and demolished house compounds. Only after resistance was offered by the villages, did the officials back out. But they had warned the villagers that the demolition would continue, the petitioners said.

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