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The Madras High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation challenging the land acquisition process for the proposed 4,000 MW Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) in Cheyyur, stating that the plea of the petitioner to stay the process as the environmental issues related to the project are pending before the National Green Tribunal, is not permissible. The Rs 24,200-crore Cheyyur ultra mega power project in Tamil Nadu is reportedly India's first coastal power plant to be bid out with an attached captive port.
The High Court bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M Sathyanarayanan observed that the acquisition proceedings for the project started in May, 2010, and the land owners have been called upon to appear and collect the compensation in September, 2013 and 31 persons have already received compensation.
The Court said, "In view of the aforesaid position, the plea of the petitioner that in larger public interest, the acquisition proceedings cannot go (which are substantially complete) on the ground that the issue of location of the Power Project inter alia is before the National Green Tribunal could not be permissible, nor in our view, a Public Interest Litigation in this form be entertained by a person who does not even have any interest in the land in question sought to be acquired."
The dispute related to the environmental issues of project is pending with the the National Green Tribunal.
The Court observed that the petitioner, K Saravanan, is not the land owner but claims to be an activist in the area. The acquisition of land in the present case is governed by a Special Act being the Tamil Nadu Acquisition of Land for Industrial Purposes Act, 1997, where Chapter-II contains the Scheme for Acquisition of Land for Industrial Purposes. Notice of acquisition is to be given to a person interested in such land in terms of sub-section 2 of Section 3 of the said Act. Section 18 ousts the jurisdiction of a Civil Court to pass injunctive orders against the acquisition proceedings, said the Bench.
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The petition was to declare all the proceedings for identification of land, land acquisition commenced, notified and proceeded with by the respondents for the 4000 MW Ultra Mega Power Project in regard to the villages Cheyyur, Vedal, Chittarkadu, Gangadevankuppam, Vilangadu and Kokkaranthangal, Panaiyur in Cheyyur Taluk for the establishment of the Plant and Ash dyke and also the captive port are grossly illegal and invalid, ultra vires and void.
The PIL also requested to direct the respondents 2 to 4, the State energy department, Kancheepuram District Collector and the Special Tahsildar for Cheyyur Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP), to withdraw the proceedings for land acquisition initiated.
The other respondents in the litigation include Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests and Coastal Tamil Nadu Power Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle of Power Finance Corporation Ltd which executes the UMP Project.
The environmental issue related to the establishment of 4000 MW Ultra Mega Power Plant and Ash Dyke and also Captive Port in these villages has received the attention of the National Green Tribunal. The petitioner has filed the petition as a Public Interest Litigation claiming the relief that there cannot be any acquisition proceedings of land once the environmental issue itself is before the Tribunal.
The 4000 MW Cheyyur UMPP near Cheyyur village is a coastal power project based on imported coal with captive port at Panaiyur, to be developed on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis operating on imported coal (Coastal).
The beneficiary states are Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, according to the Power Finance Corporation. According to the government owned discom in Tamil Nadu, TANGEDCO, it has been allotted with 1600 MW power share from this project. In order to handle the coal required for this power plant, the company has been granted an In-principle approval to establish a port in a location called Panayur, says Tamil Nadu Maritime Board.
