HC stays order directing Chief Secretary to revisit 2008 G.O. approving sale of Dunlop land
[ad_1]
A Division Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday stayed the operation of an order handed by a single decide of the court docket on April 16 directing the Chief Secretary to revisit a Government Order issued in March 2008 approving the sale of enormous tracts of land at Ambattur, price a number of hundred crores of rupees, by the defunct Dunlop Rubber Company (India) Limited to actual property agency VGN in July 2004.
Justices Anita Sumanth and Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy stayed the operation of the route issued to the Chief Secretary on an attraction most popular by the representatives of the actual property agency. The interim keep was granted after senior counsel P.R. Raman, representing the appellants, contended that there was no motive why the one decide ought to direct the Chief Secretary to revisit a legitimate Government Order issued after due consideration.
It was introduced to the discover of the court docket that the promoters of the actual property agency had filed a defamation go well with earlier than the High Court in search of damages from an individual who initially meant to buy a plot at VGN Victoria Park in Ambatttur. It additionally sought to restrain the person from making slanderous and malicious statements towards the promoters by questioning their title over the property being bought as particular person plots.
During the course of listening to earlier than the one decide, it was knowledgeable that the State authorities had acquired round 150 acres of land and assigned it to Dunlop in 1963. The project deed required the corporate to pay floor lease to the federal government yearly and made it clear that the federal government may resume the lands, on cost of obligatory quantity, if the corporate will get wound up.
However, if the federal government decides not to resume, the corporate may dispose of the land in any method. Despite such a situation, Dunlop had bought an element of lands to VGN in 2004 with out acquiring prior approval of the State authorities, the one decide had stated and identified that even the 2008 Government Order approving the sale had not thought of the objections raised by Tiruvallur Collector with respect to the sale.
In his report dated August 14, 2007, the Collector had identified that the sale was towards the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 too. Hence, the one decide, in his order wrote: “Ignoring all these points, the Government has granted permission to the company to sell the land which is totally against the object and reason for the acquisition of the land for the utilisation of the industrial purpose by the government.
“In this regard, the Chief Secretary, Tamil Nadu Government, is directed to verify and revisit the entire circumstances found in and around the issuance of G.O.Ms.No.183, Revenue (LAII) Department dated March 31, 2008 and submit a report to this court on or before June 30, 2021. In fact, the lethargic attitude of the authorities, has caused heavy loss to the government to the tune of several crores of rupees, which is public money.”
[ad_2]