Parandur airport: High-level committee formed to study issues and recommend solutions

The team will be headed by an IAS officer and will comprise hydrogeological experts from IIT Madras and Anna University and officials from the State government from departments

The State government has now constituted a high-level technical committee to delve into the issues and concerns of the local people and give recommendations for taking up the second airport for Chennai at Parandur.

A seven-member team has been formed by the State government with experts from different fields to look into the environmental and land acquisition issues that environmental experts and residents of Parandur and neighbouring villages have raised, sources in the Industries Department and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) said.

“A retired IAS officer will head the committee. Hydrogeological experts from IIT Madras and Anna University and officials from the State government from departments, including the Water Resources Department, the Commissionerate of Land Administration, TIDCO and the Kancheepuram Collectorate, will be part of the committee. Initially, they will examine the detailed data submitted to them regarding the land, the number and extent of waterbodies and other factors impacting the environment. Subsequently, there will be further meetings and field-level inspections,” a source said.

After the announcement came about the second airport at Parandur in Kancheepuram, whose total area will be as much as 4,791 acres covering about 13 villages, including Nelvai, Meleri, Ekanapuram, Nagapattu and Mahadevimangalam, many residents have been consistently objecting the project as they will have to give up their land, severely affecting their livelihoods.

Of the over 4,791 acres required for the airport, which is expected to be built at a cost of ₹20,000 crore, 2,605 acres are wetlands. Many activists and experts, apart from the villagers, had voiced their dissent, fearing that it may cause serious damage to the environment.

Subsequently, the State government had assured the setting up of a technical committee with several experts to do studies and come up with recommendations to mitigate the impact and conserve waterbodies and also find an effective solution for the land acquisition issues for the villagers, including the farmers.

Meanwhile, TIDCO is in the process of finalising a consultant who will do the Techno-Economic Feasibility Report (TEFR), which will comprise everything from a master plan to social impact study for the second airport.