Kottayam: In a setback to the government, the Pala court has dismissed the government’s petition in the ownership dispute related to the Cheruvally Estate, which is linked to the proposed Sabarimala airport project. The court accepted the argument that the Cheruvally Estate is not government land and rejected the claims raised by the government against the Ayana Charitable Trust regarding ownership.

The ruling comes at a time when the government had been moving ahead with activities connected to the airport construction. The judgment is crucial with respect to the 2,263 acres of land that the government intends to acquire for the Sabarimala Greenfield Airport project. In the light of the verdict, the project’s progress has once again become uncertain. The government will now have to either purchase the land from the Ayana Charitable Trust or have the trust voluntarily give it.

The land is spread across Erumely South and Manimala villages. The government had argued that, according to the 1910 settlement register, the land fell under the category of government lease land.

At present, ownership of the Cheruvally Estate rests with the Ayana Charitable Trust. The Revenue Department had contended that the trust’s predecessors, Harrison, had illegally sold the land to Ayana and that the land belonged to the government. The trust, however, maintained that it possesses all documents relating to the 2,263 acres, a claim that the court accepted.