Grounded – On Tamil Nadu’s Parandur Airport Project

However, the Tamil Nadu Government’s decision to scrap the proposed Parandur greenfield airport brings an end to the prolonged controversy surrounding infrastructure development. In an address to the state assembly on August 24, Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay declared that Parandur will not be considered for the new airport while alternatives for the Chennai second airport will be explored. This decision has fulfilled the promise made by political leadership to the people who were against the project citing reasons such as agriculture, habitation, and livelihood issues.

Parandur, however, has evolved beyond being a site for one airport as it is an opportunity for the State of Tamil Nadu to prove that the twin objectives of fast economic development and community/ environment protection can coexist.

Why Chennai Needs a Second Airport?

There is no debate over the need for increased aviation capacity. Chennai is a major industrial and services hub of India with its economy increasingly relying on global connectivity and cargo operations. The current Meenambakkam airport of Chennai is struggling with increasing passenger and cargo traffic.

The need for additional aviation capacity has been recognized by the State government. According to Vijay, there will be collaboration with the Airports Authority of India for developing the existing airport with the fifth terminal in order to eventually handle up to 55 million passengers per annum. 

The issue, thus, is not whether Chennai needs a new airport but where this airport will be built and what cost does the state want to pay for it.

Why Parandur Became Controversial

Parandur airport was chosen through an extensive search process for the second airport site. The chosen site, located about 68.5 km from central Chennai, was declared in 2022 by the erstwhile DMK-led government. Although the proposed project was supposed to be a major infrastructure development in the future, people in the area showed constant opposition to the proposal due to land acquisition and its impact on the agricultural economy.

However, the proposed airport itself was not a minor project. The total cost of the project was around ₹27,000 crore, while the cost of the first phase itself was estimated to be around ₹10,500 crore. Moreover, the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation had approved the project in principle to the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) for the construction of the international greenfield airport.

This history adds importance to the cancellation decision since it involves a project that has already received the go-ahead in several levels of the government process.

The Farmers’ Argument Cannot Be Dismissed

It is reasonable to take another look at a project when social costs fall disproportionately on the local community.

For the villagers around Parandur, the airport was much more than just a project on a map for the government to build infrastructure. It signified the loss of their agricultural land and means of livelihood. The government of Vijay, while stating the reason for canceling the project, mentioned farmers and villagers and issues relating to waterbodies.

The new infrastructure policy should not look at the land as just another available resource. There should be a place for the farmers and rehabilitation should take place.

In that context, one thing that the Parandur issue brings out is that development should not be calculated just in terms of kilometers of runway or passengers and investments.

But Cancellation Does Not Solve the Airport Problem

The problem lies in the fact that by turning down Parandur, the need for a second airport in Chennai has not been taken care of.

The state is now faced with the much tougher challenge of finding an alternate site which fulfills all aviation and connectivity criteria and yet causes much less social controversy. This is easier said than done.

Previous efforts to find a second airport site have consumed years of time. In itself, the process of selecting a second site has meant exploring a number of possibilities, carrying out assessments and overcoming aviation criteria. Thus, an alternate site would need to withstand all these challenges again.

An airport cannot be constructed just because the new site seems more promising politically.

The Risk of Policy Uncertainty

This is when the biggest criticism of the government’s decision comes into play.

Tamil Nadu wants to portray itself as one of the leading manufacturing and investment centers of India. Huge corporations need predictable infrastructure and logistics.

How reliable will other long-term infrastructure promises be when an infrastructure project worth several billion rupees can be in the pipeline for many years before it is cancelled just because the government changed?

This does not mean that the government should implement a bad project just to maintain continuity. What it means is that the process of selection and approval of mega projects should be strong enough to withstand political changes.

The answer is not about maintaining continuity blindly but rather about having better policy-making at earlier stages.

Chennai Cannot Wait Indefinitely

One of the most compelling reasons for acting fast is the timing.

The need for a second airport in Chennai has been talked about for decades. There is no way that Chennai will be able to go through another long process of site identification, protests, feasibility studies, and all over again.

The case of Bengaluru and Hyderabad also illustrates how essential the development of the aviation sector is for developing urban centers. Chennai could lose its competitive edge due to the non-development of airport infrastructure along with other industries such as manufacturing and logistics.

At the same time, the expansion of Meenambakkam Airport will give some temporary relief but will not substitute for a well-planned second airport. Both alternatives are being considered by the state itself.

The Environmental Question Must Be Central

There is another message from Parandur that should not get drowned out in the political debate.

Chennai is highly susceptible to flooding and other climatic extremes. Hence, any large-scale infrastructural development in such ecologically sensitive areas needs to take into account more than just the usual environmental clearances. There is a need to look into future climatic scenarios as well and assess how resilient the construction will be.

The query should not just remain whether or not an airport can be developed at that particular place. The question should be whether or not it can function sustainably several decades down the line.

For that, it becomes imperative to look into wetlands, water flow, drainages, flooding potential and effects of urbanization in the region.

The Way Forward

A good reason for the government to consider an alternative location lies in their capacity to develop a good airport in that place as opposed to being a mere postponement.

The new airport should come up after consideration of technical criteria, consultations with the concerned parties and environmental implications of the same. In addition to this, there is a need for the state to put out a realistic timeline for the process.

More importantly, Tamil Nadu needs to segregate the issue of whether the state requires another airport from where it should come up.

The first issue is quite evident while the latter requires careful investigation.

Conclusion

Parandur should not become a case of pitting “development” against “farmers.” Both sides speak of public good.

Tamil Nadu needs modern aviation infrastructure if it is looking to consolidate its position as an industrial, transport and investment center. But it also needs development programs that enjoy public legitimacy and which do not see the relocation of populations and the degradation of the environment as an inherent part of development.

The withdrawal of Parandur should thus not mark the end of airport plans for Chennai. It should mark the chance for the city to make the right call this time around.

The true test for the Vijay government now will be to find another site soon enough to meet the economic aspirations of the city but also to show that growth of infrastructure need not necessarily be at loggerheads with public interest.

The airport plans may have been shelved at Parandur. The need for one in Chennai is not.

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