A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Friday admitted the appeals filed by Harrisons Malayalam Ltd and Elstone Tea Estate Ltd challenging a single judge’s verdict upholding the State government’s order to take over their estates in Wayanad for setting up a model township for rehabilitating landslide victims.
When the appeals came up for hearing before the Bench led by Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar, the Advocate General K. Gopalakrishna Kurup submitted that the stone-laying ceremony for the township would be held on March 27. He added that the government will deposit the amount of compensation for the estate owners either with the sub-court of Sulthan Bathery, or the High Court Registrar.
The single judge’s order came on two petitions challenging the government’s proposal to acquire 65.41 hectares of land from the Harrison Malayalam Estate in Nedumbala and 78.73 hectares from the Elstone Estate in Kalpetta. The government submitted that estate of Harrisons Malayalam Limited would only be taken over in the first phase of the implementation of the township.
Published – March 21, 2025 07:41 pm IST