CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has decided to shelve the proposed greenfield airport project at Parandur in Kancheepuram district. Minister for Energy Resources and Law C T R Nirmal Kumar on Thursday announced that the state government will not proceed with the airport at Parandur and is currently identifying an alternative location.
Speaking to reporters at the secretariat, Nirmal Kumar stated that while the government supports development, it cannot permit the destruction of vital waterbodies and fertile agricultural land that yield crops three times a year.
“Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s first field protest was launched against the airport project. Our stand (against the airport) remains firm and, in consultation with the CM, we will be exploring an alternative site for the project,” he said.
Official sources in the revenue department told TNIE, as of June, 1,700 acres of private land had been acquired from 12 villages in the Sriperumbudur and Kancheepuram taluks.
‘Compensation given to 90% landowners’
This excludes Ekanapuram, the village where residents have been protesting the project for more than 1,000 days.
The proposed second airport for Chennai, located about 70km from the city, is planned over 5,746 acres of land. Of this, around 2,500 acres comprise private land, while the remaining extent consists of government land belonging to the public works, highways, rural development, revenue, forest and other departments. The project was estimated to cost `27,400 crore.
“Compensation has been disbursed to over 90% of the landowners, and the remaining payments are being processed,” an official said.
The project has drawn strong opposition over concerns including the displacement of over 1,000 families, acquisition of agricultural land, loss of locals’ livelihoods, closure and diversion of waterbodies, destruction of wetlands and the potential negative environmental impact.
To expedite land acquisition for the project, the previous DMK government granted the Parandur airport project “special project” status under the TN Land Consolidation for Special Projects Act, 2023.
On January 20, 2025, Vijay visited Parandur and expressed support for residents of Ekanapuram and neighbouring villages who had been protesting against the proposed airport for nearly two-and-a-half years. As the police denied permission for him to visit the protest site, Vijay met representatives of the agitation at a private location near the village and assured them of his support.
In 2022, following multiple feasibility studies, the Airports Authority of India shortlisted Parandur and Pannur as potential sites for Chennai’s second airport.