Chennai saw a big shift on Monday when Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay scrapped the proposed Parandur Greenfield Airport. He kept his campaign promise to local villagers, who had pushed back hard against the project out of fear they’d lose their farmland and homes.
Vijay addressed the state Assembly and got straight to the point: the government is walking away from Parandur entirely. “To fulfill the promise I made to the people,” he said, “this government will drop all plans for a new airport in Parandur.” His main reasons? Protecting farmland and preventing families from being uprooted. While he agreed that Tamil Nadu needs a new airport to keep up with Chennai’s growth and booming industry, he insisted it can’t come at the cost of farmers and local residents.
So, what happens now? Vijay said experts will start fresh, studying other sites to find a location where people and agriculture aren’t pushed aside. The Parandur project, first introduced by former Chief Minister M K Stalin in August 2022, was supposed to handle a staggering 10 crore passengers every year and cost ₹20,000 crore. The Civil Aviation Ministry gave its initial go-ahead just this April for the airport in Kancheepuram. All that goes back to square one.
Not everyone is happy. The opposition DMK, led by MLA Thangam Thennarasu, quickly pushed back. He slammed the move as political and warned that ditching the airport would hurt Tamil Nadu’s economy and drive business to Andhra Pradesh. Thennarasu walked out of the Assembly with other DMK members after being denied a chance to make his case. He also argued that landowners had already been compensated, and under the Land Acquisition Act, the land should be used for the airport as planned.
Behind all this is a long fight. Vijay and his party, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), always stood with Parandur villagers and others who were worried about losing fertile land and their livelihoods. Just this January, Vijay even joined their protest and promised support. Now, he’s kept that promise. The cancellation marks his government’s first big policy reversal and shows just how powerful rural and agricultural voices are in northern Tamil Nadu, where big projects often run into strong local resistance.
Vijay didn’t stop there. He also announced a new welfare scheme: starting January, about 1.3 crore families will get three free LPG cylinders every year. This move, rolling out from Pongal, is set to cost ₹4,000 crore a year—a major boost for households across the state.
With Parandur out, the next steps aren’t simple. The state will send out experts to find a better spot for the airport, one that meets the region’s needs without crossing swords with local communities or the environment. Expect more debates—over land, compensation, and regulations—while business leaders watch to see if Tamil Nadu’s infrastructure growth will slow down.
For now, Vijay’s message is clear: progress doesn’t mean leaving farmers or villagers behind. But can the government find a new location that works for both the economy and the people? That’s the big question—and only time will tell.
