Metro PIL may be heard in Feb

Metro PIL may be heard in Feb
P Vasanth Kumar | TNN

Bangalore: The hearing on PIL challenging the validity of Namma Metro project is likely be delayed by a month.
On November 21, the high court tentatively fixed January 6, 7 and 8 as dates for completing the hearing. But the petition did not come up either on Tuesday or Wednesday. And it hasn’t been listed for Friday either. The reason: the petition is in the ‘part-heard list’ and Justice V Gopalagowda, the other judge in the division Bench headed by the chief justice which has heard the petition before, is now in Dharwad circuit Bench.
As per the system, the judges who officiate in circuit Benches come back after four weeks. Given that, the PIL filed by CMH Road Shopkeepers’ and Residents’ Association can only be heard in the first week of February, unless the petitioners move the matter citing urgency.
The petitioners have challenged the Metro project under the century-old Mysore Tramway Act, 1906.
Bench to hear land cases
A special Bench of Justice K L Manjunath has been set up for land acquisition cases at various places in the city for the project. The Bench has fixed Friday as hearing day since the judge will be sitting only on that day.
Hearing of land acquisition cases is likely to resume from January 16. In some of these, the court had issued stay orders asking the authorities not to dispossess landowners/tenants.
Petitioners have challenged the acquisition under KIADB Act, claiming the Metro project doesn’t fit into the definition ‘industrial purpose’ as required for the KIADB to come into the picture.