Parandur airport project notified as ‘Special Project’

The Tamil Nadu government has notified the Parandur airport as a ‘Special Project’ under the Tamil Nadu Land Consolidation (for Special Projects) Act, 2023 through a gazette notification on 2 March, thus easing the process of land acquisition.

Projects which need over 100 hectares of land for implementation can be notified as a special project. Sources said, when projects require a single large parcel of land which includes water bodies, are notified as a special project, it would facilitate quicker land consolidation and expedite the acquisition process and aid in the approval process as well.

The State government has so far acquired 1,700 acres for the project, of the total of 5,746 acres (2,172.72 hectares) required. The presence of quite a lot of waterbodies in and around the project area and how it would affect the areas surrounding Parandur has often been raised by the environmental activists. A hydrological report was also prepared and submitted to the State government in the past.

“The overall water storage and the carrying capacity of the water bodies in the project area will not be diminished in any way. The alternate plans will have an equivalent proportion of the water storage or the carrying capacity as in the project area,” a source said.

Now, the Tamil Nadu government will form a five-member committee which includes experts from water resources department, ecological conservation, civil engineering, hydrology and the district revenue officer and the committee will hold a public hearing and draw up a draft consolidation scheme.

The government plans to float bids for the ₹27,400-crore Parandur project later this year and when all four phases come to an end, the airport’s handling capacity will be 100 million passengers a year.