Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 24 (ANI): DMK president and former Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin on Monday criticised the TVK-led Tamil Nadu government for dropping the Parandur airport project, calling it an “irreversible setback” to the state’s growth.
In a post on X, Stalin said, “Dropping Parandur is not Change. It’s an irreversible setback for Tamil Nadu’s growth. The announcement made today by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu to drop the Parandur International Airport project will set the State’s development back by several years. Tamil Nadu’s interests cannot be mortgaged for petty political considerations.”
https://x.com/mkstalin/status/2091799886542815579
Stalin said an announcement of such far-reaching importance being made under Rule No. 110, shutting out any opportunity for debate, is deeply troubling.
“An announcement of such far-reaching importance being made under Rule No. 110, shutting out any opportunity for debate or even for members to voice their views, is deeply troubling. Tamil Nadu leads the country across sectors, from electronics exports to automobiles. A world-class airport in its capital is not merely desirable, but absolutely essential. Rejecting such a vital project is not change. It is a massive disappointment,” he said.
He said the site was carefully selected after evaluating all available alternatives and land acquisition was almost completed, with several stages of preparatory work and approvals completed.
“The site was carefully selected after evaluating all available alternatives, and the land acquisition process has been almost completed. With several stages of preparatory work and approvals already completed, we had drawn up plans to ensure that construction could begin at a rapid pace once we returned to office. If the new government now starts all over again, identifies another location and goes through the entire process before work can even begin, Tamil Nadu’s growth trajectory itself will DROP. Under the #DravidianModel government, Tamil Nadu became the first port of call for investors. This decision threatens to push the State to the bottom of the table. The Chief Minister’s announcement is nothing short of a jackpot for competing States! Without industrial growth, economic targets of one trillion USD or 1.5 trillion USD are simply impossible to achieve. Taken without foresight, planning or consultation, this decision by the TVK government is a devastating blow to the employment dreams of Tamil Nadu’s youth,” Stalin wrote on X.
Former Tamil Nadu Industries Minister TRB Rajaa termed the decision an “extremely sad day for Tamil Nadu.”
https://x.com/TRBRajaa/status/2091799787268190334
In a post on X, Rajaa said, “Extremely sad day for Tamil Nadu. The Parandur Airport project has been dropped, says the TVK Government. Years of hard work and intense planning to give Chennai the dual-runway Greenfield airport it desperately needs have been sacrificed at the altar of politics.”
Rajaa said industry experts understand the stakes and investment promotion agencies in neighbouring states will rejoice, saying Tamil Nadu has shot itself in the foot.
“Industry experts understand the stakes. Investment promotion agencies in neighbouring states will now quietly rejoice, saying: “Tamil Nadu has shot itself in the foot.”Chennai’s growth and that of Tamil Nadu will now face a serious hurdle. We most urgently need a truly world-class international airport capable of handling large aircraft, with two operational 4,000m+ parallel runways,” Rajaa wrote on X.
He added, “I find it extremely difficult to believe that the very officers who worked so hard on this project supported this decision. They know better than most that there is no better alternative option given the environmental and aviation concerns. The DMK Government explored every possible option to identify a 5,000+ acre parcel of land around Chennai with the least impact on villages, water bodies, agriculture and existing air traffic. Parandur was ultimately chosen because, after years of technical evaluation, it offered the least overall impact while meeting Chennai’s long-term aviation requirements.The consequences go far beyond just an airport. The entire industrial corridor from Poonamallee to Kanchipuram, which accounts for nearly 41% of India’s electronics exports, could have received a massive boost. Better port connectivity, reliable water infrastructure for industry and direct global air connectivity could have boosted this region and TN into one of the world’s most important manufacturing hubs, creating at least a million new jobs over time. All of that potential has now been put at risk for what appears to be plain politics.”
Former Tamil Nadu BJP president and ‘We The Leaders’ movement founder K Annamalai said the cancellation has set the state’s development back by at least 10 years.
https://x.com/annamalai_k/status/2091783265137156358
“Today, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Thiru @TVKVijayHQ announced in the assembly that the TN Government has decided to cancel the Parandur Airport Project. TN CM mentioned that certain sites are under consideration, but it would have been helpful if he had also proposed a new site for the second airport near Chennai, as the delay in identifying its location has set the state’s development back by at least 10 years,” Annamalai wrote on X.
He added, “This announcement of the cancellation of the new airport project carries an opportunity cost that the State Government needs to consider carefully. Even if the TN Government chooses to move forward with a second airport instead of Parandur through an administrative decision soon, finding a site, taking approval from the Central Government and statutory bodies, issuing tenders, acquiring land, and securing licenses could take at least ten years before the airport becomes operational. Meanwhile, other States would be advancing, leaving us behind. We should first accept that the current airport in Chennai is insufficient even by today’s standards. Chennai’s airport spans a 1300-acre land parcel; Hyderabad’s airport spans approximately 5,500 acres; Bengaluru’s spans 4000 acres; Navi Mumbai’s is built on 2866 acres; and Delhi airport spans 5100 acres. With such a small space, the current airport in Chennai should ideally offer a better customer experience, but taking local transport from the arrivals area is a nightmare today.”
Annamalai further added, “Chennai was once the gateway of South India. Today, Chennai airport ranks 5th in total passenger-handling capacity, with a capacity of 30 million passengers per year. Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad are above Chennai on this table. The present Chennai airport is not classified as a Code F airport due to inadequate taxiways and aerobridges, which make landing large aircraft such as the A380 unsuitable at Chennai. In the South, the Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports can handle large aircraft. Considering the above, I request the TN Govt to accelerate the process of identifying a suitable location for the 2nd airport in Chennai at the earliest, as delays in site identification could push us well beyond 10 years. Parties may come and go. Governments will change. But 20 years later, when the people of Tamil Nadu look back, they should not feel suffocated by a sick building that we would still call an airport, because the administrators of the day lacked the ability to forecast. Also, in March this year, news reports stated that the TN Govt had acquired 1,700 acres for the Parandur airport project, out of the 5,746 acres needed. What does the State govt now intend to do with this acquired land?”
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president Manickam Tagore supported the TVK government’s decision, saying the Congress stand is based on facts.
https://x.com/manickamtagore/status/2091789430407540996
In a post on X, Tagore said, “Why the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee Supports the Cancellation of the Parandur Airport Project. For seven years, the farmers of Ekanapuram and neighbouring villages fought to protect their land and livelihoods. Now that the Parandur Greenfield Airport project stands cancelled, the question is not whether this is a victory for one party over another. The real question is whether the original decision could ever have been justified.”
Giving eight reasons, Tagore said the government’s own study saw this coming in 2022. He said the Airports Authority of India’s feasibility report submitted in March 2022 had recorded that Parandur was surrounded by water bodies, with more than a quarter of the site covered by irrigation tanks and a 201-hectare man-made lake just 1.4 km from the boundary.
“The very reasons cited in 2026 for cancellation — that the land is low-lying and waterlogged — were already on record three years earlier,” he said.
Tagore said the site did not hold up against the government’s own criteria. Compared with alternative site Pannur, Parandur was nearly two-and-a-half times farther from Chennai 62 km versus 27.6 km displaced around four times as many families — approximately 1,005 versus 250 and required roughly twice the earthwork for filling and grading.
He said seven years of protest and over 1,000 days of agitation by Ekanapuram villagers reflected a real and well-founded grievance, and not resistance to development.
“The people of Ekanapuram sustained their agitation for more than 1,000 days. This was not resistance to development. It was a community defending its land, water and livelihoods,” he said.
Tagore said the technical basis cited for cancellation was already in the 2022 study but remained unacted upon for three years, which is a failure cutting across governments and political timelines.
He said the Congress stand is consistent with its long-standing commitment to genuine consent and independent Social Impact Assessment under the 2013 Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Act.
Tagore said the legal process behind land acquisition was deeply flawed, with the Tamil Nadu Land Consolidation for Special Projects Act, 2023 being introduced and passed on the same day by voice vote without meaningful discussion, placing significant powers with a five-member committee without establishing genuine consent for affected families.
He said environmental clearances, full Environment Impact Assessment and State Wetland Authority’s NOC were still pending even as land acquisition proceeded.
“Our position is based on evidence, not political convenience. Our support is not a reaction to a rival party’s political decision. It is grounded in the government’s own commissioned study and the documented record,” he said, adding that the government must now make a public, time-bound commitment to identify and obtain clearances for an alternative site for Chennai’s second airport through proper Social Impact Assessment and genuine consent.
The reactions came after Chief Minister Joseph Vijay announced in the Assembly that steps taken to establish a new airport at Parandur will be abandoned to protect agricultural land and livelihoods in Parandur and 12 surrounding villages. The Civil Aviation Ministry had granted in-principle approval for the Parandur Greenfield Airport in April 2025. (ANI)
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