Will TN CM Vijay scrap Parandur airport project amid rising environmental concerns?

“Vijay had promised the people of the Parandur region that he would completely drop this project once he came to power — we hope he walks the talk.” That is the unambiguous expectation of environmentalists as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay reviewed the long-contested Parandur Greenfield Airport project, raising questions over whether he still intends to scrap it..

The project, which would involve the destruction of over a dozen water bodies, has drawn sharp opposition from farmers, activists, and aviation experts alike. The Federal spoke to G Sundarrajan, an environmentalist with Poovulagin Nanbargal, the NGO that has spearheaded the resistance against the project.

Vijay opposed this project for 900 days. Now, as Chief Minister, he is reviewing it. What can we expect?

After TVK was founded and the party conference was held, the very first visit that the party chief — now Chief Minister — made was to Ekanapuram, to oppose the Parandur airport project. He has been supportive of the agitation and the struggle. He wrote to the then chief minister about the people's concerns. He also said he would support the people through legal intervention, which the party has been doing — the case is being fought with the help of the party. So now that he has come back as chief minister, the protesting people and activists like us would obviously expect that this project is stopped.

Aviation expert Mohan Ranganathan warns that Parandur's water bodies make it dangerous to land. Why is the government ignoring this?

He has been very vocal on this issue. He has written articles in The Hindu a couple of times, saying that pilots would fear landing at such an airport. That argument makes more technical sense — because when you destroy a water body and build a runway over it, you are dealing with land that has supported that water body for thousands of years. The subsoil underneath is formed in a way that enables it to retain water, and it may not be suitable for building a runway on which pilots can safely land.

Also read | Parandur airport: Environmentalist explains why Ekanapuram was excluded from talks

He has not just said this about Parandur — he has mentioned this about many other airports as well. His broader point is that these structures have to be built more sensibly. He is an aviation expert and we have to go by his views.

The government, on the other hand, thinks that technologically and scientifically they will be able to deal with and overcome this problem. But the whole point is — why do you take such a risk? You may have an idea to combat the problem, but it is not a solution. Why do you take the risk with the lives of millions of passengers who would use that airport? That is what we are asking.

Crores have already been spent and land acquired. What is your realistic alternative?

The government has acquired about 1,000 acres from farmers. The wisest course of action is to return that land to those farmers so they can use it for agriculture.

Even if the government wants to put it to some other use, they could set up a food park there — it is an agricultural area where active agricultural production happens. People can come and set up food industries, and the farmers will also be able to produce value-added products from their agricultural produce. It becomes a win-win for everyone.

Destroying these water bodies — how does that worsen Chennai's flood risk for everyone?

The flooding that Chennai faces is not caused only by the rainfall Chennai itself receives. It is the rainfall in Kanchipuram, Thiruvallur, Chengalpattu, and even further west like Vellore that matters. When there is heavy rainfall in Thiruvallur, for example, it takes a couple of days for that water to reach Chennai — because those water bodies have to fill up first, and only the excess water flows towards Chennai. By the time it reaches Chennai, whatever rainfall Chennai received would have already receded.

But if you destroy these water bodies, all that stored rainwater comes rushing directly towards Chennai as runoff. Chennai will already be flooded from its own rainfall — and if this additional water comes straight from the Thiruvallur and Sriperumbudur region, it will add to Chennai's flooding woes.

The whole idea behind these water bodies is to delay the water coming to Chennai. If you destroy them, it will come immediately.

The government claims they will build one large water body to replace the 13 or 14 major water bodies and several smaller ones they plan to destroy. But water is not like a pipe you can redirect at will. You have to hold it in a watershed area. The water has to be held in a manner where the elevation gradient is gradual. It is not an easy task. And Chennai is getting warmer day by day — all these water bodies provide micro-climatic conditions. We are still able to live in Chennai because of these water bodies and the greenery around them. If we destroy them, Chennai will become a disaster-prone city.

What is your plan if Vijay takes this project forward?

We strongly believe that the chief minister has said many times that he will only promise what he can deliver. He has promised the people of the Parandur region that he will completely drop this project once he comes to power. So we hope and we wish that he walks the talk and drops this project ultimately.

Also read | Why is Parandur airport disaster in waiting? Interview with aviation expert Captain Mohan Ranganathan

The farmers of Ekanapuram have been protesting for years. How long can they sustain this fight?

The people of Ekanapuram overwhelmingly voted for the TVK — this is what the protest team told us, and they have also said this in various interviews. They voted hoping that this government would drop the project and save their livelihoods forever. That is what they are hoping for. And they are ready to take the fight forward — if things go in the opposite direction, they are prepared to fight to the end.

Anything you wish to add?

Being an environmental organisation, we would want the chief minister to take climate change very seriously. Allowing an airport to be built over 15 to 20 water bodies is not a wise decision.

Also, comparing Chennai with cities like Bengaluru does not hold up. Bengaluru is at an elevation of 3,000 feet. Chennai is at an elevation of 3 feet. They are two entirely different cities with two entirely different geographies. You cannot compare Bengaluru with Chennai. We urge the Chief Minister to take a judicious decision based on what is actually needed for this city.

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