Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay cancelled the proposed Parandur greenfield airport project to protect local agricultural land and farmers' livelihoods.
The decision ends a period of tension between the state government and rural landowners who feared the loss of their primary source of income. The cancellation prioritizes food security, and land rights over the expansion of regional aviation infrastructure.
Farmers from Parandur met with the chief minister on Tuesday to thank him for the decision [1]. The project was slated for development in Parandur, which is located near the Chennai-Bengaluru highway and roughly 28 km from Sriperumbudur [2, 3].
Local residents had expressed significant concern regarding the acquisition of their farms. By scrapping the project, the administration aims to preserve the existing agricultural ecosystem in the region [1, 4].
Not all political reactions have been positive. T.K.S. Elangovan, a leader with the DMK, criticized the move. "Vijay cheated farmers, now wants to appease them," Elangovan said [5].
The meeting on Tuesday served as a formal acknowledgment of the farmers' grievances, and the government's reversal of the previous infrastructure plan [1, 2].
“The decision ends a period of tension between the state government and rural landowners.”
The cancellation of the Parandur airport reflects a shift in governance toward agrarian protectionism in Tamil Nadu. By prioritizing the livelihoods of local farmers over a major infrastructure project, the administration is navigating the complex balance between industrial modernization and rural stability, while facing criticism from political opponents who view the move as a strategic populist gesture.
