Sabarimala airport: Pala sub-court to consider land ownership case today

EVEN as the state government is going forward with the construction of the Sabarimala International Airport in Erumely, the sub-court in Pala is set to consider a civil case regarding the dispute over the ownership of Cheruvally Estate, the primary site for the proposed airport project, on Saturday.

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Kottayam

Kottayam district collector had filed the civil suit against Ayana Charitable Trust (formerly Gospel for Asia) owned by the late Bishop K P Yohannan in Pala sub-court in 2019 challenging its ownership rights over the 2,263.18-acre Cheruvally Estate following a High Court directive.

As per the case, Harrison's Malayalam Plantations Ltd, the previous owner of the estate from which the Ayana Trust purchased the estate, did not possess proper title documents, making the transaction between the two parties illegal.