The Tamil Nadu government would offer 3.5 times the market value for acquiring lands in 13 villages near Parandur in Kancheepuram district, where it is proposing to construct a new airport, Minister for Public Works, Highways and Minor Ports E.V. Velu said in Chennai on Friday.
The lands being acquired in "public interest" would be acquired under the relevant legislation enacted in 2013. "There is no way other than acquiring agricultural lands," Mr. Velu said.
Flanked by Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu and Minister for MSMEs T.M. Anbarasan, Mr. Velu while addressing reporters in Secretariat, said the government would also offer alternative lands near the proposed airport site, financial assistance for housing in those lands, besides creating government employment to people in these 13 villages "based on their educational qualifications".
A total of 4,563.56 acre spread over 13 villages is to be acquired for the airport project of which 3,246.38 acre are private patta lands (2,446.79 acre of 799.59 acre of rain-fed lands), while 1317.18 acre of it is government poromboke lands. A total of 1,005 houses would be affected by the project.
To a query, the Minister clarified the guideline value for lands may vary even between survey numbers and based on the demands made during the public hearing in Kancheepuram Collectorate, where a majority wanted more compensation for their lands, the government decided to grant 3.5 times the market value for those lands.
Replying to a query on water bodies in the site, Mr. Velu said the government would consult with the IIT-Madras over that issue. Since the existing Chennai airport at Meenambakkam may not be sufficient by 2029, the government was taking steps for the new airport at Parandur “to be better than the airports in Bengaluru and Hyderabad”. It will take a “minimum of eight years” for the construction of the airport to be completed.
Mr. Velu also rejected claims that only those favouring the project were allowed in the public hearing held in Kancheepuram Collectorate. The State government had initially hand-picked 11 sites which officials visited and reviewed before four sites at Padalam, Pannur, Tiruporur and Parandur were shortlisted.
While sites in Padalam and Tiruporur were dropped in view of their proximity to nuclear establishments at Kalpakkam and the defence air base at Tambaram, more houses stood in the way of the airport at Pannur compared to Parandur. To a query, the Minister claimed the ruling DMK was never against the Chennai-Salem highway project, proposed during the erstwhile AIADMK regime, but only said farmers had to be invited for talks and their issues resolved.
