Chennai-Salem Expressway: SC refuses to grant interim stay against Madras HC order

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant an interim stay on the Madras High Court order which quashed the land acquisition proceedings initiated by the Centre and the state government for the ambitious Rs 10,000 crore Chennai-Salem eight-lane expressway.

The top court's order came after the Centre filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the Madras High Court's order.

A vacation bench of the apex court presided by Justices Indu Malhotra and MR Shah issued notice to PV Krishnamoorthy, who had filed the petition before the High Court against the government's decision and sought his response by July first week.

Krishnamoorthy, a farmer, is one of the petitioners who had approached the High Court against the government's move to acquire the land for the project.

On April 8, a division bench of the Madras High Court had quashed the land acquisition after holding that environmental clearance was mandatory since the project would have an adverse impact on the environment, including water bodies. This judgment was passed by the court on a batch of petitions was filed by advocates, farmers and politicians.

The Rs 10,000 crore Chennai-Salem eight-lane greenfield expressway project proposed on a stretch of 277-km passes through agricultural as well as reserve forest land.

The project is part of the Centre's ambitious 'Bharatmala Pariyojana - I', which involves laying of around 35,000 km of national highways before 2022.