Supreme Court Orders Survey To Determine If Kerala's Mega Car Parking Project At Periyar Reserve Falls Within Area Leased To Tamil Nadu

In a dispute between the States of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court today(Nov. 28) directed a survey by the Survey of India to determine the extent of a property covered by the Periyar Lake Lease Agreement dated 29th Oct 1886. The survey aims to ascertain whether the construction of a mega car park by the State of Kerala has encroached upon any part of the said property.

The Court observed, “We are ordering a survey with a view to ascertain whether the construction of a mega car park has been made on any part of the property covered by the Periyar Lake lease Agreement dated 29th October 1886 which is described as document 1 in volume 2 of the plaint. The Survey of India will have to carry out the exercise of determining the precise area or property covered by the lease deed and then ascertain whether the construction of the mega car park has been made in the leased area.”

This directive comes after both the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu filed affidavits, agreeing to the survey proposed by the Survey of India.

The Supreme Court granted a period of 3 months for the Survey of India to conduct the survey and submit a detailed report to the court.

It ordered “We direct survey of India to carry out the work of demarcation after due advance notice to officers nominated by both the states. They will follow the procedures as laid down in para 12 of the affidavit of the state of Kerala. We grant time of 3 months to submit a report to the court. List on 11th March 2024”.

It is pertinent to note that In an earlier order on 18th October 2023, the Court had opined that “this controversy can be resolved by directing the conduct of a joint survey and determination of the precise location of the Mega Car Park.”

The case is scheduled for the next hearing on 11th March 2024.

The bench comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Justice Pankaj Mithal was hearing a suit filed by the State of Tamil Nadu against Kerala for constructing a mega car parking facility inside the Mullaperiyar catchment area.

Senior Counsel representing Tamil Nadu informed the court that the plaintiff has no objections to following the procedure outlined in paragraph 12 of the affidavit submitted by the State of Kerala on 24th Nov 2023.

The case dates back to 2014 when the Tamil Nadu Government questioned the right of the Kerala Government to undertake such a project. The conflict escalated as the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had, in its order, permitted Kerala to proceed with various construction projects in the Periyar Tiger Reserve, triggering a legal challenge from Tamil Nadu. The heart of the matter lies in the contention that the proposed car parking project encroaches upon the area leased to Tamil Nadu. The Periyar Lease agreement was entered into between the erstwhile princely State of Travancore and the Madras Presidency in 1886, leasing out certain portions of Travancore to the British Presidency.

Efforts to resolve the issue through negotiation and settlement attempts have been ongoing since 2017. On September 15, 2017, a three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Kanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud granted a six-week period for both states to find an amicable resolution. The court expressed its desire for the authorities of Tamil Nadu and Kerala to engage in discussions and reach a settlement. Despite repeated attempts at negotiation, an agreement between the two states remained elusive, leading to the matter being brought back before the Supreme Court.

Case title: State Of Tamil Nadu v The State Of Kerala

Citation: Orgnl. Suit No. 4/2014

Sr Adv P. Wilson and Adv. G. Umapathy for the State of Tamil Nadu

Sr Adv. Jaideep Gupta for the State of Kerala

Click Here To Read/Download Order