Parandur Airport Cancelled: Stalin, Annamalai Question Vijay Govt’s Move

The Tamil Nadu government's decision to scrap the proposed greenfield airport at Parandur in Kancheepuram district has triggered a sharp political battle over the state's development priorities, with the Opposition DMK calling the move an “irreversible setback”, the BJP warning of years of delay, and the Congress and environmental groups stressing agricultural livelihoods, water resources and public consent. Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay said Chennai still needs a second airport but that it should not come at the cost of farmers or residential areas. The government will now examine alternative sites through scientific and technical studies while expanding the existing Meenambakkam airport.

The case for another airport is significant. Chennai's existing facility handles around 30 million passengers annually, while Tamil Nadu's manufacturing economy accounts for about 15% of India's factory output and manufacturing employment. The Chennai-Sriperumbudur belt hosts major automobile and electronics operations, making aviation capacity important for passengers, cargo, logistics and investment. The state plans to raise existing airport capacity to about 55 million passengers, but this is widely viewed as a short- to medium-term solution rather than a permanent substitute for a second airport.

Parandur was selected in 2022 after four locations - Parandur, Pannur, Padalam and Thiruporur were assessed. The proposed airport, spread across thousands of acres, was designed for phased development and an eventual capacity of 100 million passengers a year, at an estimated cost of around ₹27,400 crore. But that figure was the projected cost of the entire airport, not money already spent.

The financial fallout is now another issue. Around 1,700 acres had been acquired before cancellation, while more than ₹680 crore had been disbursed to landowners by November 2025. The government has yet to establish a final consolidated figure for all preparatory expenditure. The ₹680 crore should not automatically be treated as lost: authorities must decide whether the acquired land is retained, repurposed or returned, and what legal and financial consequences follow.

Environmentalists and farmers, however, argue that the problem was never merely compensation. Ekanapuram and neighbouring villages resisted the project for more than three years, citing fertile farmland, lakes, wetlands and irrigation systems. Environmental groups warned that large-scale construction could disrupt natural drainage and water storage, while aviation safety expert Mohan Ranganathan and environmental organisation Poovulagin Nanbargal welcomed the cancellation.

The political divide is now clear. M.K. Stalin and the DMK say abandoning an advanced project risks investment and infrastructure growth, while K. Annamalai has warned that a fresh site could take years to develop. The Congress supports the cancellation but insists on a time-bound alternative, while Karti Chidambaram maintains that Chennai still needs a world-class airport.

Chennai needs additional aviation capacity; the unresolved question is where it should be built. If Vijay's government finds a technically viable site with lower agricultural and ecological costs quickly, Parandur could ultimately be remembered as a course correction. If the alternative search takes years, the economic concerns raised by the Opposition could gain ground.