HC rejects PIL against Nano land allotment

A division bench of the Gujarat high court headed by chief justice KS Radhakrishnan has rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) filed against the allocation of land to Tata Motors’s Nano project near Sanand. The court observed that the state government had not violated any norms as alleged by the petitioner, the Rashtriya Kisan Dal. The high court also questioned the standing of the petitioner organisation. “This PIL has been filed by an organisation styled as Rashtriya Kisan Dal, represented by its chairman.

There is nothing to show as to whether this organisation is a registered organisation, representing the cause of farmers in the state of Gujarat,” the bench observed while delivering its order on Monday.

It is pertinent to note that HK Thaker, chairman of the Rashtriya Kisan Dal, appeared in court party in person. He had filed the petition seeking that the state government be directed to not allot land to Tata Motors for the project.

Thaker submitted that by allotting the land in question to Tata Motors, the state would in no way benefit, and that the interests of farmers and agriculturists would be compromised, thereby leading to a shortage of agricultural products.

The petitioner further submitted that the project would require a substantial amount of electricity and if such projects were encouraged, people waiting in queue for power connections would be affected. If the state were to part with property reserved for cattle farms and educational purposes, milk production will be hit, leading the state to lag behind in the field of education, the petition stated.

Rejecting the allegations made by the petitioner, the high court bench observed that “the petitioner has not succeeded in establishing that the decision taken by the government in allotting the land to Tata Motors has in any way violated any statutory provision or statutory rules or regulations.”