Madras HC Notifies Tamil Nadu on PIL for Hill Area Approvals
CHENNAI: An activist has approached the Madras High Court to contest a government order (GO) from the Tamil Nadu government. This order allows urban planning authorities to approve housing layouts in hilly areas and make land-use changes, sidestepping the essential clearance from the Hill Area Conservation Authority (HACA). The court admitted the plea on Wednesday, with the first bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan directing the state government to respond within four weeks. According to the petitioner, S. Muralidharan, the HACA was established in 1990 to safeguard ecologically sensitive hill regions from the effects…