Chennai-Salem greenfield corridor: NHAI statement amounts to contempt of court, Anbumani Ramadoss says

CHENNAI: PMK youth wing president and MP Anbumani Ramadoss on Friday slammed the National Highways Authority of India ( NHAI ) for declaring that the Chennai- Salem greenfield corridor will be completed by March 2025.

He said while the case is pending before the Supreme Court, this statement by the NHAI amounted to ‘ contempt of court .’

The NHAI published a status report of the road projects. It stated that Chennai-Salem corridor is scheduled to be completed in March 2025.

In a statement, Anbumani said, “The Madras high court issued a stay order and also quashed the land acquisition for the project. But the NHAI said the project will be completed by March 2025. It is condemnable.”

A few advocates, farmers, and Anbumani petitioned against the eight-lane access controlled expressway connecting Chennai and chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami’s native district Salem.

He said the high court issued a stay order in April 2019. Following this, authorities approached the Supreme Court, where the case was pending.

“When the case is still pending before the apex court, the NHAI issuing such a status report amounts to contempt of court,” he said.

He urged the Centre to abandon the project as it would affect the farmers livelihood and the environment.

The PMK supported protesting farmers in opposing the greenfield corridor citing adverse impact on environment and loss of livelihood of farmers in five of the northern districts, including Tiruvannamalai, Dharmapuri, and Salem districts.

It was taken up under the Centre’s Bharatmala project at an estimate cost of Rs 10,000 crore.