Kerala HC Blocks Sabarimala Airport Land Acquisition Over Land Assessment Flaws

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Kochi, Kerala - In a significant ruling, the Kerala High Court has set aside crucial stages of the land acquisition process for the proposed Sabarimala greenfield airport, citing the state government's failure to properly assess the minimum land required for the project. The decision, delivered by Justice C Jayachandran on December 19, was in response to a writ petition filed by Ayana Charitable Trust and its managing trustee Dr Siny Punnoose. The state government had issued an order on December 30, 2022, granting sanction for the acquisition of 2,570 acres of land, including the Cheruvally Estate and an additional 307 acres outside it. However, the court found that the decision-making process under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, was legally flawed. According to the court, the state is entitled to acquire land for public purposes, but the law requires that only the 'absolute bare minimum' extent of land required for a project can be acquired. The court observed that the authorities had shown a 'manifest non-application of mind' in assessing how much land was genuinely necessary. As a result, the Social Impact Assessment report, the Expert Committee report, and the government order were declared invalid to the extent they failed to address this crucial requirement. The Section 11 notification, which was issued after these steps, was also quashed. The court suggested that for technically complex projects like airports, the state should include technical experts in the SIA team to ensure informed and lawful decision-making. The writ petition was allowed, keeping other issues raised by the petitioners open for future consideration.