Kerala High Court orders ₹2-lakh compensation for evicted traders in NH development project

In a major relief for traders displaced due to national highway (NH) development works, the Kerala High Court has ordered that each evicted trader be paid a compensation of ₹2 lakh.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, V.M. Suganan, secretary of Kerala Samasthana Vyapari Vyvasayi Samithi, said the verdict follows a prolonged legal battle led by the traders and a committee of businessmen which had been fighting for justice for over 15 years.

Nealy 2,000 traders were forced to vacate their establishments from Karivellur to Muzhappilangad in Kannur as part of the highway widening project. However, they were excluded from the original compensation package, which covered only landowners and building owners.

He said that despite a government order issued in 2017 promising ₹2 lakh and other expenses, hence totalling ₹2.86 lakh per trader, the compensation was never disbursed by the government. The affected traders, many of whom had been running businesses for decades, were pushed into hardship, prompting the committee to approach the court.

The High Court, in its judgment on June 11, 2025, directed that the compensation be implemented within 12 weeks. The order will be applicable across the State.

K.V. Unnikrishnan, convenor of the action committee, said that it is a huge relief for the traders who were displaced due to the highway development.

He said that the government was citing shortage of funds for the delay, while it paid huge sums to the landowners and building owners. He said the traders and their families faced the major brunt. However, the government turned their face from the issues faced by them.

The order will be applicable for those affected by the land acquisition for NH between 2013 to 2017, he added.