CHENNAI: Even as the villagers whose lands will be acquired for constructing the Chennai Greenfield Airport (Parandur Airport) continue their protest, the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is scheduled to discuss the issuance of environmental clearance (EC) for the controversial project.
A decision will be taken at the 128th meeting of the EAC on June 28.
The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited (TIDCO), which is the project proponent agency, has proposed to construct the new airport on 5,476 acres of agricultural land, water bodies, and habitations of 20 villages around Parandur.
The villagers who have been protesting for more than 700 days against the project recently announced their decision to relocate to Andhra Pradesh to draw the Tamil Nadu government’s attention.
The central government had announced Parandur as the location for the Greenfield airport in August 2022. Earlier, the government had planned to acquire about 4,870 acres of land from 13 villages but last year it was extended to 5,746 acres from 20 villages.