Chief Minister Vijay said his government was honouring his earlier promise to protesters by abandoning the Parandur site. The decision comes after years of resistance to the proposed airport, which was planned as Chennai’s second major airport.
BY PC Burau
August 24, 2026: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Monday announced that his government would abandon the controversial Parandur greenfield airport project, taking a decisive stand in favour of farmers and residents who had opposed the proposed airport for years. “We are dropping Parandur airport. I stand firm with the protesters against the proposed airport,” Vijay said in the state Assembly.
The decision marks a major reversal for a project proposed by the previous DMK government as the site for Chennai’s second airport. Parandur, in Kancheepuram district, had been selected for the proposed greenfield facility after the state considered several locations. The project faced sustained resistance from farmers, residents and environmental groups concerned about land acquisition, displacement and the impact on agricultural fields, wetlands and water bodies.
Vijay, who leads the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), had opposed the Parandur site even before coming to power. The airport proposal became a prominent issue in his political campaign, with Vijay repeatedly backing villagers who feared losing farmland and livelihoods. His government had maintained that it was not opposed to a second airport for Chennai, but wanted it to be located where it would cause less disruption to communities and agricultural land.
Recalling a commitment he made at a meeting in Vikravandi in October 2024, Vijay said airports were important for industrial development but should not come at the expense of farmers. He said the government was now fulfilling the assurance he had given to people by abandoning the Parandur proposal.
VIDEO | Tamil Nadu Assembly: CM C Joseph Vijay announces the cancellation of the proposed construction at Parandur airport, says he stands with the people of Parandur; a detailed plan for the construction of a new airport will be announced soon.
(Source: TN ASSEMBLY YT)
(Full… pic.twitter.com/DfcHwfOkQr
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 24, 2026
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The proposed airport had received in-principle approval from the Union Civil Aviation Ministry in 2025. The earlier plan envisaged a major greenfield facility requiring thousands of acres of land and was estimated to cost around ₹27,400 crore. The project had become one of the most contentious infrastructure proposals in Tamil Nadu, with local residents staging prolonged protests against the acquisition of land.
After taking office, the Vijay government began reviewing the Parandur site and exploring alternatives. The state has now made clear that Chennai’s need for a second airport remains, but Parandur will no longer be the location. Vijay said a new site would be identified after examining its technical feasibility and ensuring that there was no comparable opposition from affected communities.
The decision has been welcomed by several residents who had opposed the project. Villagers in Ekanapuram, one of the areas expected to be affected by the proposed airport, had earlier passed a resolution thanking Vijay for his stand against the Parandur site.
DMK challenges the decision
The scrapping of the project has, however, opened a fresh political battle between the ruling TVK and the Opposition DMK.
DMK leader Duraimurugan has challenged Vijay to make public the files relating to the airport project, which was initiated during the previous DMK government. He has questioned the government’s account of the project and warned that the Opposition could move a privilege motion in the Assembly if Vijay does not produce the relevant records.
Other DMK leaders have also criticised the decision, arguing that abandoning Parandur could hurt Tamil Nadu’s economic and industrial prospects. DMK MLA Thangam Thennarasu, for instance, has argued that Parandur was the optimal site and warned that cancelling the project could affect industrial investment and push some companies towards neighbouring states.
For Vijay, however, the decision allows his government to deliver on one of its prominent political commitments while maintaining that Tamil Nadu still needs additional aviation capacity.
The government will now have to identify a new location for Chennai’s second airport and undertake the technical, environmental and administrative assessments required for such a large infrastructure project. The challenge will be to find a site that meets the city’s long-term aviation requirements without triggering the kind of prolonged resistance that engulfed Parandur.
The abandonment of Parandur therefore ends one chapter of the airport controversy, but not the larger debate over Chennai’s second airport. For Vijay, it is also a significant political statement: the government has chosen to stand with the protesters while insisting that Tamil Nadu’s infrastructure expansion must continue — but at a different location.
