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Vol. XXXII No. 9, August 16-31, 2022

Chennai’s second airport at Parandur – A mixed bag of hope and apprehension

-- by A Special Correspondent

The construction of the city’s proposed second airport at Parandur, approximately 68 kilometres from Chennai Central, is expected to commence in a couple of years with a projected outlay of Rs. 20,000 crores. It has been a longstanding view that Chennai requires a new airport. The passenger traffic at the Meenambakkam facility is said to be among the busiest in the country, serving around 2.2 crore passengers a year;reports claim that it will reach saturation point at 3.5 crore annual passengers, even whilst taking into account current expansion plans. Unsurprising, then, that the latest announcement is being welcomed by members of the public and business community alike – many reckon that the project has the potential to afford new opportunities to boost civic infrastructure as well as employment rates. However, not everyone is happy with the idea of a second airport at Parandur.

For one, the other option – Pannur – is closer to Chennai, clocking at roughly 55 kilometres from Chennai Central. It is reported to be more industrialised than Parandur as well, a feature which while signalling more expensive lands also perhaps holds promise of cost-savings in terms of existing infrastructure to leverage. Most importantly, the 4,500 acres of land that Pannur has to offer does not come with the environmental complications that Parandur does – a pre-feasibility study conducted by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has revealed that of the 4,791 acres of land marked for the new airport, 2,605 are wetlands. The city is no stranger to the fallout of paying scant attention to ­wetlands – in fact, neither is the Chennai airport itself, which was left devastated by the 2015 floods. Pictures emerged then of airplanes floating in the floodwaters; the inundation had forced the Chennai airport into closure for nearly four days. It is surprising, then, that Parandur seems to have been finalized in the absence of an environmental study that details the repurcussions of building such a facility on wetlands – as experts point out, it will affect the stability of the construction as well as leaving it open to possible flooding during the monsoon season. Further, it is undeniable that the project will have an impact on the local biosphere. Blessed with many water bodies as it is, Parandur attracts a rich number of migratory birds which then fly further south to Vedanthangal. A new airport and the development that will follow in its wake will not only rob the local wildlife of pristine territory but the birds, many fear, may pose a threat to air traffic as well.

As for the residents of Parandur, they are reported to be quite unhappy with the decision themselves. Parandur is largely farmland and a majority of the population is said to rely on agriculture to make a living – a significant number are, in fact, reportedly employed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme. Parandur has no other major industry that can extend employment to those who stand to be impacted by the loss of their lands; concerningly, some media reports claim that most villagers do not even have pattas for their lands and houses.

Chennai has waited a long time for a second airport, close to a decade in fact. It would not hurt to pause and take careful consideration of the valid concerns raised by the residents of Parandur, civic experts and environmentalists – in fact, the people of Parandur were reportedly not consulted before the decision was made. The need of the hour is a detailed environmental and civic study following the initial pre-feasibility report. When it comes to the new airport, the administration has a wonderful opportunity to show that developmental, environmental and civic interests can be balanced. One hopes that it will rise to the challenge.

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