CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government may have scrapped the proposed greenfield airport project at Parandur, ending years of protests by farmers and environmental groups. But with Industries Minister S Keerthana indicating in the Assembly that land already acquired for the Rs 27,000-crore project could be repurposed for industries, a fresh question has emerged: what will happen to Parandur’s wetlands, waterbodies and interconnected drainage systems?
For opponents of the airport, the concern was never limited to the construction of an airport. The proposed site forms part of a larger landscape of agricultural fields, wetlands, irrigation tanks, seasonal floodplains and drainage channels. They now fear that replacing the airport with industries, warehouses or other infrastructure could alter the landscape without addressing the ecological concerns that led to the opposition to the airport project in the first place.
A hydrological assessment by the Uvakai Research Foundation had found that the proposed airport site was linked to the Cooum and Adyar river basins and played an important role in flood moderation, groundwater recharge and downstream flow regulation.
The assessment had warned that the project’s pre-feasibility study did not adequately quantify runoff, assess the cumulative impact on the river basins or examine downstream flood risks, including those to Chennai.
The findings assume fresh relevance now that the airport project has been shelved and the government is considering alternative uses for the acquired land.
“The question is not merely whether an airport should come up there. Any future development has to take into account the ecological and hydrological functions of the landscape,” said G Sundarrajan, coordinator of the Chennai-based environmental advocacy group Poovulagin Nanbargal.
E Vidhubala, director of the Uvakai Research Foundation, meanwhile, questioned why the state government was yet to release the report of the state-appointed expert committee headed by retired IAS officer S Machendranathan.
“What did the committee find?” she asked.
The government had constituted the committee in February 2023 to examine the hydrological suitability of the site following objections that the airport could obstruct canals and streams, including the Kamban Canal.
The panel included experts from Anna University, IIT Madras and the water resources department. However, its report was never placed in the public domain. TIDCO had also refused to disclose the report despite repeated requests, including those made under the Right to Information Act.
The unreleased report later became a political flashpoint, with the CPM and environmental groups accusing the previous DMK government of keeping its findings under wraps.
The concerns surrounding Parandur also extend beyond wetlands and flood management.
A recent report by the state planning commission has warned that the rapidly urbanising Sriperumbudur region, where Parandur is located, is becoming increasingly vulnerable to heat stress because of land-use change. In its 2025 report, Urban Growth and Thermal Stress: A Decadal Assessment of Built-Up Area and Climate Interactions in Tamil Nadu, the Commission found a strong link between urban expansion and rising temperatures.
All 94 blocks classified as “highly heat intensified” had also witnessed significant urban growth. Among them were Sriperumbudur, Kundrathur, Poonamallee and Minjur, which had relatively little built-up area in 1985 but have since undergone rapid urbanisation.
Sundarrajan said this made the question of Parandur’s future even more significant.
“Replacing an airport with industrial parks, warehouses or other concrete-heavy infrastructure will not address the underlying problem. It could merely change the nature of development while retaining the same consequences,” he said.
For Parandur, therefore, the cancellation of the airport may have ended one battle. But whether its wetlands and water systems will be protected or make way for large-scale development is yet to be seen.