Chennai, Aug 26:
CPM State Secretary P Shanmugam on Tuesday accused the previous DMK government of lacking transparency over the proposed Parandur airport project, questioning why an expert committee report examining the feasibility of the project was kept from the public throughout its tenure.
Shanmugam said the report prepared by an expert committee headed by S Machendranathan had not been made public despite repeated demands. The committee had been constituted in February 2023 to study several aspects of the proposed greenfield airport, including environmental concerns, hydrogeological issues and rehabilitation.
Questioning the previous government’s handling of the matter, the CPM leader asked why the report had been kept under wraps and whether the DMK was prepared to explain the need for withholding it from the public.
The criticism comes after Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay announced in the Assembly that the proposed greenfield airport at Parandur in Kancheepuram district would be scrapped and that the government would explore alternative sites for Tamil Nadu’s second airport.
Meanwhile, CPM-affiliated Tamil Nadu Vivasaigal Sangam State General Secretary Sami Natarajan demanded that agricultural lands acquired for the Parandur project be returned to the farmers concerned.
He cited the 2013 land acquisition law, arguing that land acquired for a specific public purpose should be returned to its original owners if the project for which it was acquired was not implemented.
Since the Parandur project has now been dropped, the agricultural lands should be handed back to the respective farmers, he said, urging the TVK government to act in accordance with the provisions of the land acquisition law.
The CPI-affiliated Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Association also welcomed the Chief Minister’s decision to scrap the project. The association urged the government to withdraw police cases registered against farmers and local residents who had participated in protests against the airport proposal.
Its General Secretary B S Masilamani welcomed the plan to identify an alternative site for the State’s second airport but cautioned the government against selecting another location dominated by agricultural land and residential settlements.
The developments have brought renewed focus on land acquisition, environmental concerns and transparency surrounding major infrastructure projects in Tamil Nadu, even as the government begins the search for an alternative location for the proposed airport.