Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government will introduce alternative industrial projects on land acquired for the scrapped Parandur airport, with the focus on creating employment without affecting local residents, agricultural land or the environment, Minister Keerthana told the Assembly on Tuesday.
The issue came up during the debate on demands for grants, a day after Chief Minister Vijay announced the cancellation of the proposed Parandur greenfield airport project.
AIADMK MLA Edappadi K. Palaniswami sought clarity on the future of land acquired for the airport and asked the government what it planned to do with the properties already taken over.
Responding to him, Minister Nirmal Kumar said the land acquired for the airport over the past five years largely belonged to people living outside the region and claimed that the State government had not acquired land belonging to local residents so far.
He said the government could not displace local people from their native villages for the airport project and turn them into “refugees”. A decision on the future use of the acquired land would be taken later, he added.
Minister Keerthana said industries that would not harm people or the land would be established on the acquired sites. The government would identify alternative industrial projects capable of generating employment for the local population, she said.
Defending the decision to scrap the airport, Keerthana said Parandur was fertile agricultural land where cultivation was possible even during periods of low rainfall.
She warned that converting the region into a major airport could pose a flooding risk to Chennai, citing the area’s network of water bodies and canals.
According to the Minister, the proposed project could have affected around 1,500 water bodies and nearly 1,000 families. She said destroying the Parandur canal system could create a situation similar to instances where airports had faced flooding in neighbouring Kerala.
The government would establish a second airport at an alternative location without causing hardship to people, Keerthana said. She also questioned why a report prepared by a committee constituted during the previous DMK regime on land acquisition had not been made public.
Minister Vanni Arasu said his party had opposed the Parandur airport project even when it was allied with the DMK. He said the TVK government had now protected the agricultural lands of Parandur and the interests of local residents.
Former Minister E.V. Velu, however, defended the earlier government’s process in selecting the site. He said the establishment of an airport was a matter involving the Central government, while land acquisition was primarily the responsibility of the State government.
Velu said a committee had been constituted by the State government and three ministers had directly held discussions with farmers at the Kancheepuram Collectorate. According to him, of the 13 villages involved in the project, 11 had agreed to the proposal, while only Ekanapuram and Parandur villages had opposed it.
The debate reflected the sharp political divide over the Parandur airport project, with the ruling TVK government portraying its cancellation as a move to protect farmers, water resources and local communities, while the opposition continued to question the future of the land already acquired and the impact of the decision on Tamil Nadu’s infrastructure and investment plans.