CHENNAI: The fate of 1,802 acres acquired for the now-scrapped Parandur airport project emerged as a fresh flashpoint in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Tuesday, with the government indicating that it may not return the land to the original owners and would repurpose it for other uses.
Industries Minister S Keerthana, in her reply, cited Clause 99 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, to contend that the acquired land could be put to an alternative public use.
She said the land could be used for industrial projects that would not harm the environment or people living in the region, while generating employment.
Though Clause 99 states that there can be “no change from the purpose or related purposes” for which land was originally acquired, it allows the government to use the land for another public purpose if it becomes unusable for the original purpose due to a fundamental change arising from unforeseen circumstances, officials said.
Speaking in the Assembly, Law Minister C T R Nirmal Kumar said that only 48% of the land required for the project had been acquired, rejecting former DMK minister Thangam Thennarasu’s claim that 90% of the land, including government and private land, had been acquired.
“The total land required for the project is 5,846 acres, of which 3,774 acres is patta land and only 1,802 acres have been acquired so far. Of the 1,972 acres shown as government land, 1,558 acres are waterbodies,” he said.
Parandur land still agriculturally productive: Keerthana
Nirmal Kumar also added that no land had been acquired in Ekanapuram, Karani and Thandalam villages and that the project had not obtained environmental clearance, contrary to claims made by former Industries Minister TRB Rajaa and the DMK.
While AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami sought to know what the government proposed to do with the acquired land following its decision to abandon the airport project, DMK MLA S Austin questioned how the government planned to achieve its target of $1.5 trillion economy after scrapping the major project.
Keerthana also defended the decision, pointing out that much of the land remained agriculturally productive and that the network of water channels in the region played an important role in protecting Chennai from floods.
TN Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) had applied to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change in May 2024 for Terms of Reference (ToR) for the project. The ministry issued the ToR in September that year. Under the ToR, TIDCO was required to conduct an environmental impact assessment and other studies.
However, the works have not commenced yet. Obtaining ToR and submitting the required reports to the ministry are among the initial steps needed to be taken to secure final environmental clearance under the EIA Notification, 2006.
