Parandur Airport: Centre writes response to query in Parliament

CHENNAI: In a response to a query raised by Girirajan, Member of Rajya Sabha, on the Parandur Airport, Union Minister of State VK Singh said, "The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited (TIDCO) and Tamil Nadu Government had submitted a request for authorization. The application is being considered by the Central Aviation Department in consultation with the Airports Authority of India."

In site clearance application, TIDCO stated that 4,791 acres of land would be used for constructing an airport at Parandur. The period for the operationalisation of Parandur Airport may only be decided after the availability of the necessary area, he further added, as per reports.

In response, it was stated that the state government has the authority to finalize the location for the airport and had announced Parandur as the location of the second airport in Chennai in August, last year.

According to the proposed plan, the airport will be constructed in about 4,700 acres by acquiring lands from 13 villages in Parandur and surrounding areas. The cost of this project is estimated to be around Rs 20,000 crore. The residents of Parandur and the 13 surrounding villagers have been protesting continuously in opposition to this.