Court seeks clarification on payment of land compensation for Wayanad rehabilitation

KOCHI: The High Court Division Bench has raised concerns about the compensation for land acquired for rehabilitating the victims of the Mundakai-Chooralmala disaster in Wayanad. It expressed concern over the decision to hand over the compensation to estate owners instead of depositing it in the civil court. The government and the estate owners should state their stand. The division bench comprising Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice S. Manu also clarified that the order issued to acquire the land cannot be stayed as it will affect the rehabilitation. The court was considering an appeal filed by the estate owner, Harrison Malayalam Limited, against the acquisition of land under the Disaster Management Act.

The estate owners argued that land can be acquired only under the Land Acquisition Act, 2013. The court, which stated that it would examine this legal issue, accepted the appeal on file. The matter will be considered again on the 13th of next month.

Advocate General K. Gopalakrishna Kurup said that the government's position was that the compensation amount could be deposited in the court, but the single bench had given a suggestion to the contrary. He stated that the appeal was not filed because it would affect the rehabilitation.

The estate owner's lawyer stated that the land would be transferred as collateral for the compensation amount. This is land that has been owned for more than a hundred years. He stated that the single bench did not direct the amount to be deposited in the court.

Harrison's petition is against the acquisition of 65.41 hectares of land in the Nedumbala estate. Although the owners, Elstone Tea Estate, had also filed an appeal against the order to acquire 78.73 hectares of land in the Kalpetta Elstone Estate, it did not reach this bench.