The Madras High Court recently quashed a Tamil Nadu government order that allotted ecologically sensitive land with sand dunes as an alternative site for a private school. In the order dated February 25, 2026, a Bench of Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy slammed the DMK government in the state for passing an order violating the principles of environmental law.
After hearing the writ petition filed by the private school, the High Court noted that the government order allotting the land was illegal on the face of it. “…the Government Order on the face of it is against the large public interest. The land in S.No.74/1 in Periyapattu Village is classified as sand dunes. Sand dunes are the natural buffers that protect the land from storms and other events. They act as sand reservoirs. They are habitats for certain flora and fauna. They are an eco-sensitive system of utmost importance,” the Single Bench stated.
“When this land of the petitioner is taken back for the Temple purposes, and instead Sand Dunes is given as alternate land, it is apt to quote Hubert Reeves (French-Canadian astrophysicist) who said – “Man is the most insane species. He worships an invisible God and destroys a visible Nature. Unaware that this Nature he’s destroying is this God he’s worshipping,” the High Court sternly remarked, adding that Sand Dunes are also the incarnation of Lord Sri Devanatha Swami, who protects the land and people.
“In their endeavour to protect the sentiments of the devotees of the Temple, they had attempted to give away God himself. Without considering the ecological importance of the sand dunes, the Government acted recklessly, in violation of the public trust doctrine imposed upon it,” the Court said, criticising the MK Stalin government.
The High Court also noted that the land allotted by the state government in place of the previous land was much lower in value and had no road access. “…it can be seen that when the petitioner’s land, worth approximately Rs 8 Crores in Cuddalore town, is taken back, the land that is allotted has a value of Rs. 2 Crores and is located 34 kilometres from Cuddalore,” the High Court said.
Quashing the imouged government order, the High Court directed the petitioner school to report to the district collector with a copy of the order. The District Collector will investigate the plots of land in Thiruvanthipuram Village and in Arisi Periyankuppam Village, which the petitioner expressed interest in. After investigating the plots of land, if the District Collector finds out that the said pieces of land are not feasible for allocation, a suitable piece of land should be identified and allotted to the petitioner within a period of four weeks. If no land is identified within the said period, appropriate orders should be issued refunding the value of the land to the petitioner.
Background of the case
The case arises from the purchase of a 5-acre plot of land by St. Joseph’s Matriculation Higher Secondary School in the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu. The land was later resumed by the state to be allotted to a temple after it was claimed that the land historically belonged to the temple. In 2019, the Madras High Court directed the state government to allot an alternate land, not less than 4.5 acres, to the school within the Cuddalore district.
However, the MK Stalin government in Tamil Nadu, through the impugned order, allotted government land classified as sand dunes in Periyapattu village of Bhuvanagiri Taluk. Subsequently, the school challenged the government order, arguing that the allotted land was unsuitable for establishing an educational institution and was also significantly lower in value. The school contended that the value of the allotted land was not even 25% the value of the land previously allotted to it.
