CHENNAI: A heated exchange erupted in the state Assembly on Tuesday over the Coimbatore airport expansion project, with AIADMK MLA and former minister SP Velumani arguing with DMK ministers V Senthil Balaji and TRB Rajaa over fund allocations and project execution delays.
During the debate on the demand for grants for municipal administration and water supplies department, Velumani claimed that the AIADMK government, under former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, had approved the acquisition of 627.89 acres across five villages in 2017.
He said that Rs 300 crore was earmarked for land acquisition in the 2020-21 financial year for the airport project. However, he accused both the DMK government and the Union government of stalling the project for the past four years despite initial progress.
Countering the allegations, Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji, in-charge of Coimbatore district, asserted that only Rs 500 crore worth of land was acquired under AIADMK rule (2016 to 2021). He noted that after Chief Minister MK Stalin took office, Coimbatore’s business leaders urged him to expedite the airport project. Following multiple review meetings, the DMK government allocated Rs 1,300 crore, ensuring the completion of land acquisition and transfer to the relevant authorities.
Backing his colleague, Industries Minister TRB Rajaa traced the project’s origins to 2010, when former CM M Karunanidhi’s government granted administrative approval. He alleged that the AIADMK government, which took office in 2011, delayed funding for five years. It was only in 2018 that Rs 75.18 crore was allocated, followed by Rs 189.3 crore in 2019. In early 2021, just before the Assembly elections, the AIADMK had hastily sanctioned Rs 308.46 crore in three separate tranches, he claimed.
Rajaa further stated that under the DMK government, Rs 1,185.99 crore was allocated within the first year, bringing the total commitment to Rs 1,515.98 crore. He confirmed that the land acquisition for the project was completed, Union government approvals were secured, and tenders were floated for construction. The airport project expansion work is now progressing, he added.