Tamil Nadu Scraps Parandur Greenfield Airport Project Near Chennai

Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay announced in the Assembly on Monday that the proposed greenfield airport project at Parandur in Kancheepuram district has been dropped. The decision halts the plan to construct Chennai’s second airport at the location, with the state government now intending to seek an alternative site.

The Parandur airport project was originally initiated in 2022, when a land parcel of around 5,000 acres was earmarked for the second airport. Since the proposal began, approximately 1,700 acres of land had already been acquired for the infrastructure scheme.

The cancellation follows persistent protests that raged for months among residents and potential land losers across 13 revenue villages in the area. Protesters raised serious concerns regarding the large-scale displacement of the rural community, ecological degradation, the loss of precious natural water bodies, and the deprivation of farmers' livelihoods.

Scrapping the Parandur project was an election promise made by the TVK, which came to power in May. During his announcement, the Chief Minister noted that the requirement for a second airport for Chennai, which has emerged as an industrial hub, cannot be questioned. However, he maintained that the facility should not be built in Parandur, aiming instead for an alternative location that entails less loss of agricultural land and reduces adverse impacts on livelihoods.

The state government has now taken on the task of identifying a new parcel of land closer to Chennai to maintain essential urban access while seeking to minimise effects on human settlements and farmlands.

The government has not yet explicitly clarified whether the 1,700 acres already acquired will be left undisturbed for pastoral use or utilised for other industrial development. The decision to drop the project without an alternative site ready has also raised concerns regarding its impact on industrial progress and investor confidence in Tamil Nadu.