13 yrs after deadline, expansion, operations in back-burner at Vellore

VELLORE: The much-touted Vellore airport, which should have got off the ground in 2009, is likely to be non-starter as both the Centre and state governments have put it on their respective back-burners, sources said.

The airport located at Adbullapuram on the outskirts of Vellore town on the Chennai–Bengaluru national highway was in July 2006 brought under AAI (Airports Authority of India) “reactivation of airports.”

The AAI then announced an “Idle airports activation” programme based on which the state government promised a terminal building in 2009. Matters again became dormant. The project was revived by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) under the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) Udan in 2018. Though slated for 2019 operations, the COVID-19 pandemic intervened and it was again relegated to the back burner.

Vellore district officials relocated a graveyard and TNEB power poles to enable the project come to fruition. Then in 2019, the major issue was the Abdullapuram – Asanambut Road, which bifurcated the proposed airport with the terminal building on one side and the runway on the other. Delays were due to officials not knowing where exactly to lay the alternate road, which was finally laid more than a year ago at cost of Rs 1.30 crore.

Then work on the Rs 61 crore terminal building began and was completed when suddenly the AAI demanded another 10.72 acres land on the northern portion of the facility on the NH side. Though poromboke land was available on the south of the facility, officials wanted it on the northern end and as this involved patta land estimated at Rs 24 crore the files were sent to Chennai where it currently lies.

However, an international airport being proposed at Parandur has resulted in Vellore being relegated to the back burner once again. AAI officials said once land was given it would become operational after DGCA certification as the runway, taxiway, apron facility and ATC (air traffic control) works are all over. That the Centre lacked interest was revealed when an official said, “the Centre is reviewing all its schemes including roads under NHAI, but there has been no such movement regarding the Vellore airport.”

VIT University chancellor G Viswanathan one of the prime movers behind the airport project when asked said, “I feel the local MLA and MP should press more for the project. However, both the centre and state governments seem to be lacking in interest.”

From a practical point of view what bugs locals is that Chennai is only 135 odd km from Vellore. “You can reach Poonamallee in one and a half hours from Vellore. Entering Chennai city from there is the issue,” said Vellore District Consumers Federation president K Sathiyamoorthy. “Hence for locals reaching Chennai by taxi will be cheaper and faster as only the flying time from Vellore to Chennai is shorter while the time for the check in at Vellore and then checking out at Chennai airport consumes time which finally reveals that it is easier on the pocket to travel by road,” a highways official said.

Initially the airport’s expectations were based on clientele from CMC, VIT University, tourists visiting the Golden Temple at Sripuram on the outskirts of Vellore and tanners based at Ambur and Vaniyambadi 50 and 70 km respectively from Vellore in Tirupattur district.

“If the scheme fails to take off then the built-up facility can be used to provide private air taxi and air ambulance services through the use of helicopters while the latter could also be used for paid joyrides for the willing public,” Sathiyamoorthy added.

“This will at least help to recover some portion of the expenditure spent till now,” he said.