The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Order on cancellation of land allotment challenged

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 03, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Order on cancellation of land allotment challenged

Special Correspondent

Physical possession of Siruseri land given to company as per law, says Singapore firm

CHENNAI: A Tamil Nadu Government Order, cancelling the allotment of 104.71 acres of land to a Singapore real estate company, has been challenged in the Madras High Court.

The February 17, 2006 order cancelled the memorandum of understanding between the Tamil Nadu Government and the Singapore Realty Private Limited on the ground that the proposal to construct an integrated township at the plot in Siruseri was not accorded the mandatory environmental impact assessment (EIA) clearance by the Centre.

Challenging the GO and the subsequent communication from the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT), Yeo Boon Kwang, director, Singapore Realty Private Limited, submitted that when it made an offer for the land, Old Mahabalipuram Road was a narrow stretch and in very bad shape. There were absolutely no takers for the property.

The physical possession of the land was given to the company in April 2005, he said. The matter took a political turn when the DMK alleged that the transaction was tainted by corruption. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests wrote to the State Pollution Control Board in December 2005, alleging violation of EIA norms.

Illegal action

All along these developments the Government did not state that it intended to cancel the MoU. Describing the cancellation as an "illegal action," the petitioner said the State had acted in a flagrant violation of the principles of natural justice. "The petitioner has a right to be heard and a right to show-cause against the cancellation of the MoU. There was no show-cause notice prior to the issuance of the impugned order."

It prayed for a stay on the operation of the impugned GO and the subsequent letter from SIPCOT and sought to restrain SIPCOT and the Industries Department authorities from interfering with the peaceful possession of the land.

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