CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has ordered Kalanidhi Veeraswamy, Member of Parliament (MP) to vacate from a government land within one month and it has also directed the State government to evict the MP if he doesn't comply with the court's order.
"The Government is not just for politicians and party men, It is the representative of the common man. It does not only include the top echelons of the society, but travels the bottom rung of the ladder and it is the inherent duty of the government to work for their upliftment both socially and economically", observed Justice S M Subramaniam while refusing the petition.
The government is not empowered to grant lands based on their whims and fancies, a guideline needs to be put in place to ensure that power in the assignment of grama natham lands is bridled and used for the rightful purposes to the rightful people, wrote the judge.
The petitioner (Kalanidhi) belongs to an affluent family and therefore the possibility of political abuse cannot be overruled in the present cases, said the judge.
Persons with money power, muscle power, or political power alone would be in a position to occupy such vast extent of 'Grama Natham' lands for exploitation and for unjust gains, which would cause an infringement of the rights of homeless poor people and the same will result in an unconstitutionality with reference to the Constitutional mandate of 'Social Justice', observed the judge.
The petitioner Kalanidhi Veeraswamy moved the Madras High Court (MHC) seeking to restrict the Planning Development and Special Initiatives Department to take over his property and de-seal the petitioner's car parking in his hospital by Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL). According to the petitioner, he bought a piece of land classified as grama natham in Koyambedu, Chennai in 2007 and constructed a private hospital.
Subsequently, CMRL acquired an extent of about 62.93 sq. meters in the petitioner's land for a project with a negotiation to pay the compensation, said the petitioner.
However, the CMRL refused to pay the compensation. The petitioner appealed before the Union Ministry of Urban Development, which also rejected his appeal.
Based on the government order, the commissioner of land administration has concluded that the subject land belongs to the government and the government transferred the land to the CMRL for Metro Rail Project. The petitioner contended that he is paying the property tax and running the hospital, and sought relief before the court. The petitioner also contended that the CMRL must pay him compensation with interest at the rate of 12 percent per annum.
However, the judge refused to grant the relief and ordered the petitioner to vacate the government land before October 15. The judge also directed the government to evict the petitioner if he did not comply with the order and disposed of the petition.