Mon Mar 17 13:46:07 UTC 2025: ## Madras High Court Demands Action on Unpaid Land Acquisition Compensation

**Chennai, March 17, 2025** – The Madras High Court has highlighted a staggering ₹1,557.61 crore in unpaid compensation owed to landowners in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for land acquired by the government. Justice N. Anand Venkatesh revealed this figure, obtained from the High Court’s Registrar (Statistics), representing 1,271 pending execution petitions.

The court’s investigation uncovered that ₹1,521.83 crore is owed in Tamil Nadu alone, with significant amounts outstanding in districts like Tiruvallur (₹431.12 crore), Chennai (₹387.10 crore), Namakkal (₹375.40 crore), and Chengalpattu (₹319.13 crore). An additional ₹35.78 crore remains unpaid in Puducherry.

Justice Venkatesh noted that this issue has persisted since at least 2018, when a previous assessment revealed ₹760 crore in outstanding payments. He expressed serious concern about the situation, stating that landowners are being deprived of their fundamental right to fair compensation after their land has been seized.

The judge has summoned the Advocate General, P.S. Raman, and several state secretaries (Chief Secretary, Revenue, Industries, Highways, Housing, Finance and Adi Dravidar Welfare) to appear in court on March 21st to address the issue and propose solutions for resolving these outstanding payments. The court’s intervention follows a 2017 writ petition filed by two landowners seeking compensation for land acquired for a BHEL factory.

Read More