Opposition to expressway project without any basis: Minister

: Opposition to the Rs 10,000 crore Salem-Chennai corridor was 'without any basis' as lands acquired from farmers by the Tamil Nadu government was only with their consent, revenue minister R B Udhayakumar said here today.

"The views expressed by various persons against the project is without any basis. Land for the purpose is being acquired from farmers only with their consent," he told reporters here.

Udhayakumar said a suvery had been carried out for the project and officials were taking into account minute details of the land of each affected farmer, like the type of crop grown and the number of trees on his land.

The minister was at S P Natham area here for laying the foundation stone for local road projects.

The Salem-Chennai corridor, which seeks to build a 277 km long eight-lane highway, has come in for opposition from some quarters on the ground that farm and forest lands would be affected.

On June 28, the Madras High Court had issued notice to the union and state governments on a petition from an NGO, "Poovulagin Nanbargal" (friends of earth), seeking to nullify the land acquisition process for the project.

The court had on July 5 observed that the proposed project would benefit people and dismissed a petition by Tamil Maanila Congress, seeking permission to hold a public meeting against the Rs 10,000 crore project on July 8.