TN govt explains why it dropped Parandur airport amid heated exchanges in Assembly
The Tamil Nadu government has rejected the Opposition DMK’s claim that the proposed Parandur greenfield airport project was nearly 90 per cent complete, stating that less than half of the land needed for the project had been acquired.
Energy Resources and Law Minister R Nirmal Kumar told the Assembly that the airport would require 5,846 acres. This includes 3,774 acres of private patta land, of which 2,681 acres are agricultural fields. Of the 1,972 acres of government land required, around 1,558 acres consist of water bodies and canals.
According to the minister, approximately 1,802 acres, or 48 per cent of the total land requirement, had been acquired so far.
Kumar said acquisition work had not started in several villages, including Ekanapuram, Karai, Thandalam and Siruvalur. He also argued that the proposed site contained numerous water bodies and claimed that the project had neither undergone an environmental impact assessment nor secured environmental clearance.
The minister said the project had also encountered delays under the earlier AIADMK government because of issues involving water bodies.
The government is now looking at expanding Chennai International Airport at Meenambakkam. Kumar cited Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay as saying that expansion of Terminals 3 and 5 could eventually increase the airport’s annual passenger capacity to 55 million.
The issue triggered a heated exchange between ruling party and DMK legislators in the Assembly. DMK member S Austin questioned the decision to abandon the Parandur project, while Kumar made allegations concerning a purported real estate beneficiary of the earlier decision to pursue the airport.
DMK leader Thangam Thennarasu responded with a remark about a “lottery”, further escalating the confrontation. With members from both sides protesting, Speaker J C Prabhakar stepped in and urged legislators to maintain order.
Former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami also sought clarification on the land already acquired for the project. He asked whether the land would be returned to its original owners and whether compensation paid to them would be recovered.
Chief Minister Vijay announced on Monday that the Parandur airport proposal would be dropped and that the government would identify another location for Chennai’s second airport.