Chennai | August 25, 2026 | INFRAINTEL Bureau
(India’s News)
The Tamil Nadu government’s decision to scrap the proposed greenfield airport at Parandur in Kancheepuram district has triggered sharp political reactions over economic growth, environmental safeguards and the future of Chennai’s aviation capacity.
Opposition DMK president M. K. Stalin described the decision by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s government as an irreversible setback and argued that abandoning the site would delay the development of Chennai’s second airport.
Stalin said Parandur had been selected after technical feasibility studies and warned that restarting site identification and statutory clearances could take years and divert major industrial investment to neighbouring states.
Sections of the Congress and regional political organisations emphasised ecological protection and the need for public consent, reflecting longstanding concerns over land acquisition, water bodies, livelihoods and environmental impact in the project area.
A second airport has been proposed to address the long-term capacity constraints of Chennai International Airport and support the state’s industrial, logistics and tourism growth.
The cancellation changes the planning baseline but does not remove the underlying demand for additional aviation capacity. The government will now need to clarify whether it intends to identify another site, expand existing airport capacity or pursue a different regional-airport strategy.
A credible way forward will require publication of the technical and environmental grounds for cancellation, updated passenger-demand projections, comparative site assessments, compensation implications and a time-bound alternative plan. Without this, the policy shift risks prolonged uncertainty for communities, investors and infrastructure agencies.