Despite continuous protests against the proposed second airport for Chennai in Parandur, the Tamil Nadu government is moving ahead with the project. A statement released by the government without even the name of the issuing department, authority or date, reiterated that the second airport to Chennai is much needed on November 04.
The statement issued through the Department of Public Relation Department (DIPR) in Tamil Nadu, said the government has launched various projects to help the state reach the goal of one trillion economy. ”To reach this scale of economy by 2030, the Tamil Nadu government has to take many initiatives. The second airport in the state's capital city is one among them," the statement said.
The statement said that despite a second airport in Chennai being discussed for 24 years, the Ministry of Civil Aviation under the Union government confirmed the location for the project only recently. “Parandur has been chosen for this project as it is technically feasible to construct the airport here. The aim is to construct the airport before 2028 with an investment of Rs 20,000 crores," the statement said explaining the project details.
This statement was released as the protest by Parandur residents reached 100 days. People from Parandur and 12 neighbouring villages are holding protests every evening against the proposed airport after it was announced. The government has offered three times the market value of land for those affected by the project. However, the residents of Parandur have rejected the offer and are protesting as they fear losing their houses, ancestral land and livelihoods.
"Two days ago, Thangam Thennarasu said that the techno feasibility study will be conducted by Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited (TIDCO). But today in contrast to his own speech, the statement mentioned that the place was chosen by the Union government's aviation ministry. The minister should give clarification on this," demanded Poovulagin Nanbargal, an organisation for environment protection based in Tamil Nadu. Thangam Thennarasu is the Minister for Industries in Tamil Nadu. Poovulagin Nanbargal said constructing the airport on water bodies and wetlands of Parandur would lead to an ecological disaster.
It is to be noted that on November 2, while addressing a session on "Greenfield airport: Timely initiative to fasttrack TN's growth, Thangam Thennarasu, said the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) will be conducting a techno-feasibility study for the Parandur project.
"The minister who met the residents of Parandur said the government would consider their grievances. But after a few days, the minister said a feasibility report will be prepared by TIDCO, and again in two days, an unsigned statement says the aviation ministry chose Parandur for this project. Why is there so much confusion on this?" said a tweet from Poovulagin Nanbargal.
The government till date has failed to answer questions raised regarding the Parandur airport and If the government is transparent it should release the pre-feasibility report first and then the TIDCO report, Poovulagin Nanbargal wrote on Twitter, adding that the government should understand that empty statements won’t help.
The statement released by the government said the airport, which is going to be built on 4,700 acres of land, will help address the growth of population and industry in the next 30 to 35 years. The project will create new job opportunities and yield a revenue of Rs 325 for every Rs 100 invested. While reiterating the need for the project, the government also said the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry also expressed the same view regarding the second airport to Chennai. "Due to the congestion in the Meenambakkam airport, cargo movement has shifted to Bengaluru airport. Hyderabad also grabs some of the opportunities that are meant for Chennai airport," the statement said.
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