Scrapping of Parandur airport project draws sharp political reactions in TN
Tamil Nadu's decision to scrap the proposed greenfield airport project at Parandur in Kancheepuram district has drawn sharp reactions from political parties across the state, with the Opposition DMK calling it an "irreversible setback," while sections of the Congress and regional outfits emphasised ecological safeguards and public consensus.
DMK president M.K. Stalin criticised Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay's decision, saying shelving a vital infrastructure project planned for the state's economic growth was "not change, but a massive disappointment."
In a statement issued Monday, Stalin said the Parandur site had been finalised after extensive technical feasibility studies. He warned that restarting site identification and statutory clearance processes from scratch would delay Chennai's second airport by years and risk driving major industrial investments to neighbouring states.
Former Industries Minister T.R.B. Rajaa, from the previous DMK government, called the cancellation a "black day" for Tamil Nadu's infrastructure, saying years of planning for a world-class, dual-runway facility had been sacrificed to politics. Speaking to reporters, he warned the move handed a major advantage to competing states and jeopardised up to a million potential jobs along the Poonamallee-Kanchipuram industrial corridor. Defending the earlier DMK government's site selection as the most ecologically and technically viable option after extensive studies, Rajaa urged Chief Minister Vijay to consult senior officials and reconsider.
Former state BJP president K. Annamalai flagged the "opportunity cost" of abandoning the site without immediately notifying an alternative. In a statement, he highlighted capacity constraints at the existing Meenambakkam airport relative to hubs in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi, cautioning that an indefinite delay in land acquisition and approvals could stall Tamil Nadu's industrial momentum for a decade.
The Tamil Nadu Congress, meanwhile, backed the state government's decision on environmental grounds. TNCC chief B. Manickam Tagore said the party's support was rooted in ground realities rather than political convenience, citing initial feasibility assessments by the Airports Authority of India that flagged numerous waterbodies and irrigation tanks across the 4,700-acre tract. He commended sustained resistance by local farmers in Ekanapuram and surrounding hamlets, while urging the administration to frame a time-bound roadmap for a viable alternative site.
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram struck a more measured note, saying Chennai urgently needed a world-class airport — arguing the existing facility remained inadequate and lagged behind other major Indian metros — but that securing local trust and consent ahead of any land acquisition was essential to avoid long-term hurdles.
DMDK chief Premalatha Vijayakanth said her party would support a greenfield airport project only if a comprehensive assessment confirmed no harm to farmlands and the local farming community.
Parandur is located near the Chennai-Bengaluru highway, roughly 28 km from Sriperumbudur. Chief Minister Vijay announced in the Assembly that the project would be abandoned and an alternative site identified.
