The Ministry of Civil Aviation has granted in-principle approval for Chennai’s proposed second airport in Parandur, Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said on Wednesday, April 9. The project has been met with stiff resistance since it was first announced by the Tamil Nadu government in 2022.
Both residents—who are mainly farmers—and activists have raised concerns over the potential environmental and livelihood impacts of the proposed Parandur Greenfield Airport project. The project would require 2,171 hectares of land, including 1,386.43 hectares of agricultural land and 577 hectares of water bodies.
Ram Mohan said, “I believe the Parandur Airport represents a significant step towards enhancing regional connectivity and the National Democratic Alliance-led (NDA) government is committed to further bolster Tamil Nadu’s aviation infrastructure.”
He also said, “Growing passenger demand is being addressed by strengthening airport capacity across the country, especially in mega cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai through the development of second airports.”
In April 2024, at least 10 farmers from Parandur were booked under non-bailable sections for boycotting the Lok Sabha elections held that year. The farmers were part of the Joint Movement Against Parandur Airport and the Farmers Welfare Association.
In January this year, actor and Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay visited protesting residents and pledged support. “A recent scientific study says that the cause of floods in Chennai was due to the destruction of marshlands and water bodies. Any government that destroys 90% of agricultural lands and 90% of water bodies for an airport would be an ‘anti-people’ government,” he had said at the time.