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<ul><li>The <keyword id="6354977" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Supreme-Court">Supreme Court</keyword> has upheld the notification issued for acquiring land for the ₹10,000 crore Chennai-Salem eight-lane greenfield expressway project.</li><li>The SC verdict allows the Indian government and the <keyword id="87432" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Highways-Authority-of-India">National Highways Authority of India</keyword> (NHAI) to issue notifications for the land they wish to acquire for the project.</li><li>However, further proceedings will determine whether or not the actual acquisition of the land will occur.</li></ul>The ₹10,000 crore Chennai-Salem expressway project, which has been at the center of controversy in the poll-bound state of <keyword id="20154" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="tamil-nadu">Tamil Nadu</keyword>, got the nod to proceed from the <a href="https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/chennai-salem-expressway-supreme-court-land-acquisition-166940">Supreme Court on December 8</a>. The apex institution has ruled that the central government and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) can acquire the land they require for this massive endeavour. But, it’s not a complete green light. The judgement only means that the authorities can issue notifications of their intent to buy the land without any environmental clearance. Fresh proceedings will be initiated to determine the actual acquisition of the land by the central government and the NHAI. The verdict, in part, reverses the Madras High Court’s judgement concerning the notification of land acquisition for the eight-lane expressway. Concerns around the Chennai-Salem expressway project Even though the project got approval back in February 2018, it has faced delays in the face of protests and legal battles. Activists and farmers in five districts — including Tiruvannamalai and Salem — have been up in arms over the proposed 277.30-kilometre highway, alleging that it would be a monumental loss of agricultural land and the biodiversity in the area. When the <a href="https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/prior-environmental-clearance-necessary-for-nh-land-acquisition-madras-hc-quashes-acquisition-for-chennai-salem-8-lane-highway-read-judgment-144159">Madras High Court</a> looked a little closer, they found that the proposal itself for a ‘copy-paste’ job with references to Bangalore and a town in China, which had nothing to do with the Chennai-Salem expressway. It also found that the NHAI’s selection process for project consultants was faulty. The final contender was given the project without any written orders or tender. The bench also disagreed with the pitch of the assertion that the expressway would help the common man in its 117-page verdict. Since there are only around four to six exits along the entire stretch of the highway, the locals have nothing to gain. If anything, the project would make it harder for them to zip between small towns, according to the Madras High Court. “The projection made by NHAI, as to the benefits of the project highway appears to be illusory,” it said. According to the government, the Chennai-Salem ‘Greenfield Corridor’ under the Bharatmala Pariyojana, would cut down the travel time between Chennai and Salem. <keyword id="24659" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tamil-nadu-Chief-Minister">Tamil Nadu Chief Minister</keyword> Edappadi K Palaniswami <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/renewed-efforts-to-implement-chennai-salem-corridor-sparks-fresh-protests/article27699974.ece">claims</a> that the corridor is required to fuel growth in the western districts of the state. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/canara-bank-launches-2000-crore-qip-sets-the-floor-price-at-103-50-per-share/articleshow/79617503.cms">Canara Bank’s ₹2,000 crore fundraising plan boosts the share price by over 12% in two days</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/jupiter-and-saturn-will-reunite-after-800-years-on-the-longest-night-of-2020-to-form-a-rare-christmas-star/articleshow/79620041.cms">Jupiter and Saturn will reunite after 800 years on the longest night of 2020 to form a rare 'Christmas star'</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/checkout-effects-of-bharat-bandh-in-haryana-delhi-gujarat-maharashtra-karnataka-rajasthan-and-chhattisgarh/slidelist/79619898.cms">From Haryana, Delhi to Maharashtra and Karnataka — here’s how Bharat Bandh is affecting the common life in India</a>

Chennai-Salem expressway: Supreme Court gives Indian government partial nod — land still needs to be acquired

<ul><li>Tamil Nadu is going to poll for the first time in the second phase of the 2019 Parliamentary elections in India.</li></ul><ul><li>The Neduvasal hydrocarbon project and Chennai-Salem expressway project driven by the central government have faced severe public outrage. </li></ul><ul><li>The Narendra Modi government’s stance on imposing a central exam for medical college admissions has further tilted the scales in favour of its rivals.</li></ul><ul><li>While the country’s largest copper smelter operated by Sterlite has been shut by court order, the police firing that killed 14 protestors in 2018 is still fresh in the voters’ minds. </li></ul><ul><li>The blame for the shootout in Tuticorin fell on the ruling state government under AIADMK, which is now fighting the Parliamentary elections in alliance with the BJP. </li></ul>The voters of one of India’s <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/himachal-pradesh-tamil-nadu-and-kerala-top-ranking-in-sdg-index-niti-aayog/articleshow/67192585.cms">relatively developed states</a>, Tamil Nadu, are an angry lot. A series of missteps by the Narendra Modi government meant that their indignation has been directed towards the incumbent alliance between the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). On the other side is the coalition between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Indian National Congress, the Left Front, and a set of other local parties that significance within certain segments-- either geographically or among specific sections of the electorate. While there are other regional outfits and smaller coalitions in the fray, including the iconic movie star Kamal Hasan who is making his electoral debut, almost <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections/lok-sabha-elections-2019/tamil-nadu/news/tamil-nadu-poll-survey-says-dmk-front-to-get-30-33-lok-sabha-seats/articleshow/68784727.cms">all opinion polls</a> in the run up to the elections have handed a landslide to the challengers led by the DMK and Congress. There are at least four big decisions that work against the incumbent <keyword id="5013725" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="AIADMK-BJP-Alliance">AIADMK-BJP alliance</keyword>. A small oil field In 2015, the <a href="https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/energy/no-noble-gases-57750">Modi government approved a project to dig</a> for oil and natural gas from a 10 square kilometre field in Neduvasal, in Pudukottai district. The reason being the oil field was located in one of the more fertile parts of Tamil Nadu’s delta region around the Cauvery river. The proposal to dig for oil in the region scratched the wounds of an existing wound in the minds of the local farmers. A standoff with the neighbouring state of Karnataka over <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/a-brief-history-of-the-cauvery-dispute/tale-of-two-states/slideshow/63698683.cms">the sharing of Cauvery’s water</a> is decades old. Even after a settlement ordered by the Supreme Court, the farmers’ in Tamil Nadu’s rice bowl feel parched as well as wronged by the system. Farmers were caught by surprise when they were asked to give up their land to extract oil, while they were still hoping to their share of water to till the land. A big highway Farmers have been up in arms in five other districts too, far away from Neduvasal. The point of contention is an eight-lane expressway stretching nearly 280 kilometres west from the state capital Chennai to the industrial town of Salem. Once again the BJP has found itself in the firing line of the voters as it continues to push for the project despite stiff resistance that the party’s rivals have capitalised on. The Madras High Court on April 8 quashed the land acquisition process for the Chennai-Salem Expressway project. The challenging coalition led by Congress and the DMK have vowed to scrap the project if voted to power. A medical entrance test Seventeen-year-old Anitha, an aspiring medical student, committed suicide in September 2017 after she failed to clear the then newly-introduced medical entrance exam, that goes by the acronym NEET. The National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) replaced the admission tests for medical colleges across the country with a centralised process. The <a href="https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/why-neet-election-issue-tamil-nadu-98604">people’s resentment against NEET</a> stems from the view that it puts local students, even the high-scorers, at a disadvantage because the curriculum is structured based on the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which is different from the state syllabus. The state administration’s high-handed approach in the wake of protests, and <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/elections/story/piyush-goyal-neet-tamil-nadu-bjp-aiadmk-1500468-2019-04-12">the BJP’s persistence</a> on imposing NEET, has only hurt the alliance’s chances in the state. Once again, BJP’s rivals have promised to let states decide the mode of admission into medical colleges. The <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Politics/QgYD6W50rev6VcHmGs9GKP/NEET-protests-More-states-join-the-fight.html">protests against NEET was not unique</a> to Tamil Nadu, but the outrage in the southern state was the most severe. Tamil Nadu is known for its huge population of aspiring doctors. The state has 22 medical colleges, among the highest in the country, and 4 doctors for every 1,000 people, <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/6-states-have-more-doctors-than-whos-11000-guideline/articleshow/65640694.cms">nearly at par with</a> developed countries like Norway and Sweden. Despite the enduring resentment, Tamil Nadu had the <a href="http://www.newindianexpress.com/education/2019/feb/03/tamil-nadu-has-the-highest-number-of-doctors-who-cleared-pg-neet-1933745.html">maximum number of students</a> clearing the NEET exam in 2019. The shootout In May 2018, The Tamil Nadu Police <a href="https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/sterlite-violence-video-shows-policemen-taking-aim-and-shooting-protesters-81744">opened fire at a sea of protestors</a> outside the country’s largest copper smelter, operated by Sterlite, a Vedanta Group company. More than 10 people died in the shootout and the public anger that swelled further poured on the ruling state government led by the AIADMK. Sterlite’s plant was accused of violating pollution norms, causing fatal health issues to its workers and the population in its vicinity. Local protests against the plant have been underway in patches since 1996, and they escalated once again in 2018 leading up to the <a href="https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/editorials/tuticorin-massacre/594415.html">‘Tuticorin Massacre’</a>. Subsequent probe and judicial inquiry revealed gaping regulatory lapses, eventually leading to the closure of the plant pending investigations and corrections. The London-based Vedanta Group has been a big donor to <a href="https://www.thequint.com/news/india/sterlite-congress-bjp-fcra-violation-finance-bill-amendments">both the BJP and the Congress</a> between 2004 and 2015. However, BJP also found itself further on the wrong side of the debate soon after the issue came to the fore, as some of its leaders tried to colour some of the protestors as anti-social elements. 
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="HRajaBJP" handlename="Chowkidar H Raja" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/690063070870241280/uH8lVPNK_normal.jpg" favoritecount="668" retweetcount="333" status="Not only Thoothukudi even the protest against the 8 way highway is orchestrated by the same anti social elements. https://t.co/UcjvxjiDsV" createdat="1530593499000" id="1014008749197946880"></div>





 Going into the 2019 elections, the party is in alliance with the regional party, AIADMK, which bore the brunt of the public anger. A year on, the memory of the lethal attack on protestors is still fresh among voters, particularly in the region. As is the outrage against NEET, the Chennai-Salem expressway, and the proposed oil field in Neduvasal. The odds are heavily stacked against the AIADMK-BJP alliance. This is the first-time in decades that Tamil Nadu is going to polls without a strong, regional leader to back. Over decades, a series of larger-than-life leaders, with their share of taints, from <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/india/cn-annadurai-legacy-of-a-dravidian-stalwart-6007351.html">CN Annadurai</a> to <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19880115-m.g.-ramachandran-death-marks-the-passing-of-an-era-of-stability-in-tamil-nadu-796866-1988-01-15">MG Ramachandran</a> to <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/karunanidhi-1924-2018/newslist/65311339.cms">M Karunanidhi</a> and <a href="https://frontline.thehindu.com/cover-story/jayalalithaas-legacy/article9435860.ece">J Jayalalitha</a> had turned Tamil Nadu into a politically unbreachable fortress for national parties. The mandate kept passing between the DMK and AIADMK for years. However, the passing away of Karunanidhi and Jayalalitha in recent years has left a political vacuum that the national parties intended to capitalise on. Neither the BJP nor the Congress by itself has made any significant headway so far.

Tamil Nadu’s angry voters have a small oil field, a big highway, a medical entrance test, and a police shootout in mind

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Chennai-Salem expressway: Supreme Court gives Indian government partial nod — land still needs to be acquired

Prabhjote Gill

Tamil Nadu’s angry voters have a small oil field, a big highway, a medical entrance test, and a police shootout in mind

Sriram Iyer

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