2 days ago
Perundurai SIPCOT landowners seek compensation as per High Court order
Members of the Perundurai SIPCOT Affected People Welfare Association have urged Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to ensure compensation for 350 acres acquired in 1991 for the Perundurai SIPCOT project, in line with a Madras High Court order.
The members submitted a petition through Minister for Housing, Prohibition, and Excise, S. Muthusamy, during the CM's visit to Perundurai on Wednesday.
The petition said the State government had acquired 2,709 acres from farmers in Ingur and Perundurai villages three decades ago to establish the SIPCOT Industrial Growth Centre. While 2,350 acres were acquired through direct purchase, the remaining 350 acres were acquired under the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 through an Award, due to procedural hurdles.
For directly purchased land, the compensation paid was ₹60,000 to ₹1.20 lakh per acre in Ingur and ₹1.50 lakh to ₹2 lakh per acre in Perundurai. However, for land acquired through the Award, only ₹29,700 per acre in Ingur and ₹34,100 per acre in Perundurai was paid, the amount deposited in court based on government valuation.
Challenging this disparity, affected farmers filed eight cases. The district court ruled in favour of the farmers, ordering enhanced compensation ranging from ₹1.80 lakh to ₹2.50 lakh per acre for about 69 acres. The government and SIPCOT appealed, but the Madras High Court upheld the lower court's ruling in its final verdict on March 6, 2012, directing payment of the revised amounts.
The petition alleged that even after the High Court verdict, SIPCOT had not fully disbursed the compensation. In several other cases, it said, the government and SIPCOT delayed proceedings by not filing responses, leaving many claims pending. Some farmers, it added, were unable to pursue legal remedies due to lack of documents, award copies, or awareness, or because of expired deadlines.
Citing Section 28A of the Land Acquisition Act of 1894, the association urged the government to re-determine the compensation, ₹2.50 lakh per acre as base land value, plus 30% solatium, 12% additional market value, and 15% interest as per the court order. The revised compensation should be formalised through a Government Order and distributed to all affected farmers, the petition said.
The petition also highlighted that SIPCOT currently leased land at ₹81 lakh per acre for industrial purposes and ₹1.62 crore for commercial use. Over 100 families, it said, lost their livelihood without receiving compensation and suffered for three decades. The association requested the CM's immediate intervention to resolve the issue.
