Parandur Airport – A boon or bane for Chennai?
The Tamil Nadu government has set the stage for Parandur airport as it will float legal tenders for INR 20,000 crores as a part of the next phase of airport development plan.
Currently the preliminary work, including land acquisition is almost done, informed M. Suresh, the chairman of Airports Authority of India while speaking to the media in Tuticorin. He further added even if the airport is under state government as of now, going ahead, the airport work will be jointly done with the Airports Authority of India.
Parandur, the second airport in Tamil Nadu would be constructed on 2171 hectares of land across 13 villages. This would include 1386.43 hectares of agricultural lands, 577 hectares of water bodies and 173 hectares of govt or poramboke land. Just recently the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited (TIDCO) received long-awaited clearance of the Terms of Reference (ToR) from the Union Environment Ministry to carry out an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environment Management Plan (EMP) for the proposed Greenfield Airport. With this clearance, TIDCO will now be required to conduct a thorough environmental study and gather public input.
TIDCO has a timeline of four years to submit the completed EIA and EMP to the Expert Appraisal Committee for environmental clearance at the ministry. The twin-airport at Chennai is planned to reduce the rising burden on Chennai International Airport.
However, the airport has been under the radar of environmentalists and nature-lovers due to its huge impact on local ecosystem and villages.
Why the protest?
- Of the 2,173 hectares needed for the airport, a large part was made up of agricultural land and water bodies
- According to State of India’s Birds report, 130 species of birds have been reported from the Parandur region and nearby water bodies. Of these, 28 are migratory bird species, while two are in the ‘vulnerable’ list and five are in the ‘near threatened’ list. Their natural habitat will be destroyed
- Diverting the natural reservoirs of water like lakes or rives will deplete the groundwater table and havoc the ecological balance. This might lead to floods during heavy rains.
- The water from these natural reservoirs is used as a source of drinking water by nearby villages, for irrigation on farms, as well as inland fishing.
- Apart from this, over 1000 families will be affected and 36,635 trees will be cut.
Meanwhile, TIDCO will conduct feasibility study of the entire area along with the socio-economic impact on the displaced families and suggest mitigation methods.
Terms of the ToR
- Thorough hydrological assessment of the catchment areas surrounding the proposed airport site
- Studies on the wetlands that will be affected, along with a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the State Wetland Authority
- sensitivity analysis of the site based on the ministry's criteria
Meanwhile the government has defended the airport project stating rising concerns over passenger traffic at Chennai airport. As per the latest figures, Chennai airport will reach its maximum capacity of million passengers annually by 2028-29 and there will be an urgent need of new airport to meet passenger demand.