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New Indian Express
6 days ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
Madras High Court puts on hold order barring TNSTC buses from using four toll plazas
CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), which owes dues of Rs 276 crore user fees to operators of four toll plazas in the southern districts, has got a reprieve as the Madras High Court kept in abeyance its order blocking the buses from passing through these four toll plazas from July 10. On Thursday, Justice N Anand Venkatesh said the order passed on Tuesday to stop the TNSTC buses from plying through Kappalur, Etturavattam, Salaipudhur, and Nanguneri toll plazas, would be held back till July 31. The reprieve was given after Additional Advocate General (AAG) J Ravindran submitted that transport secretary has been holding talks with the companies concerned to resolve the issue and a settlement will be reached soon. Recording the statement, the judge granted the temporary relief. On Tuesday, the judge, expressing concern about the mounting dues, issued the order after hearing the petitions filed by the toll companies operating Madurai- Kanniyakumari, Kanniyakumari-Etturavattam, Salaipudhur-Madurai, and Nanguneri-Kanniyakumari toll roads. They had sought the court to issue directions restraining TNSTC buses from plying through the toll plazas till the dues are settled. The judge had also directed the director general of police to take steps for ensuring protection to the toll plazas and to ensure that the toll road operators are not coerced into allowing the buses. This 'extreme order' had to be passed by the court considering the fact that no positive solution was coming forth from TNSTC for settling the dues, the judge had reasoned.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
HC suspends order barring govt buses from using 4 toll plazas
Chennai: A day after prohibiting TNSTC buses from passing through four toll plazas — Kallapur, Etturavattam, Salaipudhur, and Nanguneri toll plazas — connecting the southern districts of the state from July 10, in view of toll arrears amounting to 276 crore, the Madras high court has kept the order in abeyance until July 31. Justice N Anand Venkatesh decided to suspend the order in view of a submission made by the additional advocate-general J Ravindran that the state's transport secretary is in talks with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) concessionaires and an amicable solution will be arrived at soon. The issue pertains to the pleas moved by Madurai-Kanyakumari Tollway Private Limited, Kanyakumari-Etturavattam Tollway Private Limited, Salaipudhur-Madurai Tollway Private Limited, and Nanguneri-Kanyakumari Tollway Private Limited. They alleged that four state transport corporations are liable to pay approximately Rs 276 crore, which includes the penalty and interest. Even excluding the penalty and interest, Rs 113 crore is payable to the petitioners by the corporations, they said. You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai In arriving at this amount, the petitioners took into consideration the various payments that were made by the corporations to the tune of Rs 48.5 crore. This apart, there is another major issue involved in this case, which pertains to the violations of the Motor Vehicles Rules, 2000, which mandates FASTags in all vehicles. On July 9, since the corporations could not come up with a viable solution to settle the dues, the court took the extreme step of stopping buses from using the national highways.
New Indian Express
24-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
SS funds only if TN signs PM SHRI pact: Centre
'An MoU has to be signed between the central government and the respective state governments. A number of state governments have signed it and the funds have been released. As far as TN is concerned, they have not yet signed it, and therefore, funds are not released,' Sundaresan told the bench. Additional Advocate General (AAG) J Ravindran, appearing for the state government, called it a 'big brother attitude' to say that funds would be released only if the MoU is signed. The bench asked the ASG whether an MoU could be framed without the conditions to implement the three-language policy or NEP. He said he could reply only after discussing it with the department concerned and that would require time. Sundaresan also informed the court that as per sub-section 6 of section 7 of RTE Act, the central government shall develop a framework of national curriculum with the help of academic authorities specified under section 29 and therefore it is a body that looks into NEP, which is applicable across the country. The bench reserved the orders and directed the AAG to submit the minutes of the meeting of the government authorities scheduled for May 28 to discuss the issue.
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
50 encroachments along Adyar river bulldozed
Chennai: Rapped by Madras high court, which has set a three-month ultimatum for state govt to remove encroachments on Adyar river, authorities bulldozed at least 50 houses in the Anakaputhur area on Wednesday. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Water resources department officials said 593 families living along the river in Anakaputhur, in areas such as Quaid-e-Milleth Nagar, Thai Moogambikai Nagar, Santhai Nagar, and MGR Nagar Third Street, will be removed. "They are being provided with alternative housing, with each house being 390sqft. They are being relocated to Talaivaram, Keerapakkam, Perumbakkam, and Navalur, with each house unit costing Rs 17 lakh. It's being given free of cost to the beneficiaries," said an official. All the encroachments in Anakaputhur will be removed in a week, said officials. "The downstream areas like Thideer Nagar, Jyothi Ammal Nagar, Surya Nagar, and Malligaipoo Nagar in Saidapet and Kotturpuram will be removed subsequently. The court has given orders. We will proceed by removing houses in one neighbourhood after another," the official said. Tamil Nadu's additional advocate-general J Ravindran had told the high court that the encroachments stalled the govt's . The project, worth Rs 1,500 crore, was announced in three consecutive state budgets from 2023, but it failed to take off as the contractor could not prepare a detailed project report due to encroachments. The encroachment removal drive on Wednesday saw a lot of political action as well, with Naam Tamilar Katchi leader Seeman carrying out protests. Speaking to reporters, Seeman asked why the govt was removing the encroachments of only poor people leaving out the bigger entities, including colleges, untouched. "Who gave electricity connections, voting rights, ration, put roads, and allowed them to stay here for 60 years?" he said, asking whether action will be taken against the officials concerned.
