All posts tagged: Parandur

Farmers who gave land for Parandur airport face uncertainty

Farmers who gave land for Parandur airport face uncertainty

In limbo: So far, nearly 1,700 acres of land has been acquired in various villages for the project. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu A few months ago, Murugan, a farmer and resident of Nagapattu, was under duress to give his agricultural land for the Parandur airport project. “I was absolutely against it. But I had to give my farmland since it was for the development of the State, and it would create lakhs of jobs. I received the compensation. But now, I’m shocked that there is nothing happening. We are staring at uncertainty, wondering why we gave the land,” he says. Many residents and farmers who gave their farmland are worried about their future, as they do not know whether the project would take off. Planned to be built at an estimated cost of ₹27,400 crore in four phases on an area of 2,172.72 hectares, the airport was announced in 2022. Demonstrations erupted soon after. Simultaneously, the government pursued the approval. In April 2025, the approval finally came. Land acquisition began, and continued till the State …

Parandur airport project notified as ‘Special Project’

Parandur airport project notified as ‘Special Project’

A view of Nagapattu village in Parandur where the new greenfield airport is proposed in Kancheepuram district near Chennai. File | Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj The Tamil Nadu government has notified the Parandur airport as a ‘Special Project’ under the Tamil Nadu Land Consolidation (for Special Projects) Act, 2023 through a gazette notification on 2 March, thus easing the process of land acquisition. Projects which need over 100 hectares of land for implementation can be notified as a special project. Sources said, when projects require a single large parcel of land which includes water bodies, are notified as a special project, it would facilitate quicker land consolidation and expedite the acquisition process and aid in the approval process as well. The State government has so far acquired 1,700 acres for the project, of the total of 5,746 acres (2,172.72 hectares) required. The presence of quite a lot of waterbodies in and around the project area and how it would affect the areas surrounding Parandur has often been raised by the environmental activists. A hydrological report …

Farmers to gherao Assembly on April 15 if Parandur airport project is not dropped

Farmers to gherao Assembly on April 15 if Parandur airport project is not dropped

CPI(M) leader P. Shanmugam addressing farmers from in and around Parandur on Sunday. | Photo Credit: B. VELANKANNI RAJ   CPI(M) leader and State president of the All India Kisan Sabha P. Shanmugam on Sunday (February 23, 2025) said that if the Tamil Nadu government did not give up its proposal to construct an airport at Parandur in Kancheepuram district, farmers would gherao the Assembly on April 15. Addressing a meeting of farmers from in and around Parandur, who are likely to be affected by the airport project, he reminded the ruling DMK of its poll promise of not using agricultural lands for development projects without the consent of farmers. He urged the government to release the report of an expert committee formed to study the feasibility of the airport project. Former Madras High Court Judge Hari Parandaman said that instead of constructing a new airport near Chennai, the government should ensure that the existing one at Meenambakkam in the city was utilised to its capacity. The Officers Training Academy could also be acquired to expand …

DMK ‘staging drama’ with conflicting positions on farmers’ issues: Actor Vijay at Parandur

DMK ‘staging drama’ with conflicting positions on farmers’ issues: Actor Vijay at Parandur

Nearly a year after taking the political plunge, actor Vijay met villagers protesting against Chennai’s second airport project proposed at Parandur | Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj Residents of Parandur and surrounding villages have been protesting for more than 900 days against the acquisition of farmlands for the proposed airport, nearly 70 km from Chennai | Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj Actor-politician and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay on Monday (January 20, 2025) charged that the ruling DMK was “a master at staging drama” and taking contradictory stances on farmers’ issues. Nearly a year after taking the political plunge, Mr. Vijay met villagers protesting against Chennai’s second airport project proposed at Parandur, in the neighbouring Kancheepuram district. In a meeting organised at an open ground on the premises of a private wedding resort in Parandur, Mr. Vijay addressed the residents of 13 villages, including Parandur, Ekanapuram, Nelvoy, Valathur, Madapuram, and Akkammapuram, who have been protesting for more than 900 days against the acquisition of farmlands for the proposed airport, nearly 70 km from Chennai. …

Parandur airport: poised on a ‘watershed’ moment

Just eight years after 2015, the terrifying scenes were back, not in a nightmare, but for real: inundated homes; people rescued by boats; floating cars; prolonged power cuts; residents bearing mounting financial losses. With Cyclone Michaung, which ironically did not even make landfall in Chennai, the city was again engulfed by floodwaters. Though lessons from the past stood us in good stead in limiting, to a great extent, the loss of precious lives, the other losses are nearly incalculable. In early December, the typical patterns of flooding and the city’s vulnerabilities came to the fore, and the fault lines were as obvious as the urgent need to address the crisis. Another constant in the 2015 and 2023 floods was the closure of the airport, one runway of which has been constructed over the Adyar. Not surprisingly, it did spur discussions on what may come to pass if an airport is built on a vast wetland, as the second airport at Parandur is meant to. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence gave the site clearance for this …

Parandur airport project gets no objection for site clearance from Ministry of Defence

The Parandur site was finalised as the location to build a second airport for Chennai city last year at an estimated cost of ₹20,000 crore and subsequently, numerous activities have been in progress to begin the construction work.  | Photo Credit: VELANKANNI RAJ B As the State government awaits the site clearance for the second airport at Parandur from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, as a first step, the Ministry of Defence has granted its go ahead and given the ‘No Objection’ for site clearance. On October 25, this year, the Ministry of Defence gave its nod but it has come with some ‘stipulated conditions’, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation V. K. Singh said. Responding to a query from Rajya Sabha MP R. Girirajan as to whether the Ministry of Defence had recommended to reconsider the proposed airport at Parandur, Mr. Singh said, on April 11, the Ministry had suggested that the government could take a relook at building the second airport at this site, owing to its proximity to the Tambaram Air …

Residents, civil society groups appeal to TNSDMA against Parandur airport

Residents of Eganapuram, Parandur and 13 villages took out a rally to submit a petition to Kancheepuram Collector against the proposed Greenfield airport project on Monday. The police stopped them and assured the petitioners to facilitate a meeting with the concerned Ministers tomorrow. | Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj Residents of areas in Adyar basin and civil society groups have written an open letter to the Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority (TNSDMA) against proceeding with plans for the proposed international airport in Parandur, Kancheepuram. The letter appealed to the State to reconsider building the airport due to an increased disaster risk posed by the proposed developments to the downstream areas of the Adyar river, and particularly to the tail-end reaches, floodplains and low-lying areas along the river. Coming on the heels of a protest by farmers in Ekanapuram and other surrounding villages, the open letter said the airport construction would disproportionately affect vulnerable groups such as the poor, women, and differently-abled. The letter highlighted that the proposed 4,500-acre airport might not only affect unbuilt …