Overview
- Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay announced the government would abandon the Parandur airport site on August 24, citing incomplete acquisition and the absence of required environmental clearances.
- Officials say the state acquired 1,802 acres — about 48% of the roughly 5,846 acres needed — and that much of the remaining land includes private patta farms and government waterbodies.
- Ministers have ordered studies to identify lower‑impact alternative sites for Chennai’s second airport and plan near‑term capacity relief by expanding Chennai International Airport with Terminal 3 completion and a proposed Terminal 5.
- The government has signalled it may repurpose the acquired plots for environmentally acceptable industrial or public uses, while opposition parties and farmer groups demand the unpublished Machandranathan committee report and legal clarity on returning land under the 2013 land‑acquisition law.
- The cancellation has provoked sharp Assembly exchanges over alleged real‑estate beneficiaries and will determine outcomes for local farmers, water resources and Chennai’s long‑term aviation capacity depending on site choices, legal steps to reconvey land, and the timing of airport expansion.