Chennai: In a development that will make Madipakkam and its surrounding areas in the suburb greener and environmental-friendly, the Madras High Court recently upheld the orders of the State Environment and Forests Department issued in 2012 directing the Quaid-e-Milleth Education and Social Trust to return 29.33 acres of land in Nanmangalam reserve forest along Madipakkam.
The said amount of real estate came under the 40 acres assigned to the body in 1975 for activities pertaining to education in the locality.
It all started when the Forest Department, through a GO dated 10 January 1975, assigned 40 acres of the Nanmangalam reserve forest for the institution to use.
A token land value was fixed at the rate of Rs 100 per acre and the trust paid Rs 4,000 towards consideration for assigning the land. However, the department, by GOs passed in 2012, sought the return of the unused land of 29.33 acres back.
Aggrieved over this, Quaide Milleth Education and Social Trust represented by its general secretary, challenged the orders of the Environment and Forests Department passed in 2012 through a petition to the Madras HC.
The trust urged the Court to restrain government body from in any manner proceeding with the resumption of the land.
But, at the time of delivering the order recently, Justice V Parthiban said the scheme of assignment and the conditions stipulated therein clearly established in unequivocal terms the intent of the government while transferring the land to the petitioner trust for their usage and disposal.
Once any assignment is accompanied by conditions, the land can always be reverted to the government if such conditions are not fulfilled. Therefore, such transaction can never be coloured as one complete sale or transfer of title.
Guberan, a resident of Kovilambakkam, said,”This a indeed a good initiative and will definitively pave way for re-greening activities. Now, with the land back under its control, the Forest Department should allow NGOs to undertake plantations drives. A couple of years back, I came to know that volunteers of Environmentalist Foundation of India werent allowed inside the reserve forest areas. Such cases shouldnt happen this time around.”