Chennai: The 487-day long public protest against the setting up of Chennai’s second airport at Parandur reached a flashpoint on Friday as the process for land acquisition kicked off even as police arrested 13 representatives of potential land losers, who went for talks at the Kanchipuram Collector’s office but tried to lay a siege of the premises when told that the project was on, triggering widespread agitations in their villages and the deployment of heavy police pickets.
The people of 13 villages in Sriperumbudur and Walajabad taluks of Kanchipuram district had been on the war path since the Parandur site was finalised for the airport in August, 2022, and were told that 4870 acres of land would be required for setting up the Greenfield project. Since all the people were expected to lose their agricultural, housing and other properties, they launched their protest.
Every night, the villages gathered at a place to raise slogans, pass resolutions and assert their right to not let go of their property since that announcement came, besides organizing a series of other protests, holding meetings with the officials at their villages, at the Kanchipuram Collector’s office and the State Secretariat in Chennai.
Firm on not allowing the project in their land, people of the 13 villages passed resolutions against the airport project at grama sabha meetings that happened since August 2022 and even boycotted some in protest against the government not changing the site. They said that several water bodies would be lost if the project came up in the ecologically fragile locality.
The State government that is entrusted with the responsibility of acquiring the required land for the Union Government's project tried to dissuade the agitating villages by increasing the compensation and promising jobs but could not convince the people.
A committee was formed under retired IAS officer Machendranath and the team visited the villages, met with the people and tried to work out a compromise. On Friday, the protestors raised slogans against Machendranath, accusing him of reneging on his promises to them.
Earlier, since the government did not make any move for land acquisition, the people continued with their night protest alone even as they went about their business as usual. On Friday, 13 protestors, each representing a village, were called for talks with the DRO. When the delegation was told that the project was on and land acquisition process had started with the issuing of a government order, they walked out of the meeting.
When the representatives of the people sat at the entrance of the Collector’s office, laying a siege of the premises, police swooped down on them and took them away to a marriage hall, besides posting heavy pickets at the premises and also in the villages concerned. Hearing about that, people of the villages held demonstrations, demanding the release of their representatives.
At one place a woman walking with a kerosene can caused a flutter as it was suspected to be a bid to set herself on fire. However, she was overpowered by the police, who increased the presence of its forces in all the villages.
Meanwhile going through the GO issued on October 31 by the Industries, Investment Promotion and Commerce Department, it came to light that the number of villages in which 5746 acres of land would go into the construction of the new airport was 20 and not just the 13 villages where the people have been agitating since August, 2022.
Of the land that would be used for the project, 3774 acres would be acquired from the members of the public while 1972.17 acres belonged to the government and would be alienated for the airport. The tentative compensation to be paid to the land losers had been worked out to Rs 1549,24,27,572.86 (nearly Rs 1550 crore) and families that are likely to be displaced due to the implementation of the project is 1005.
The villages that will be fully gone when the project work starts are Parandur A, Parandur B, Thandalam, Podavur, Todur, Nelvoy, Valathur, Madapuram, Sekkangulam, Attuputhur, Kuthuambakkam, Siruvallur, Karai, Akkamapuram, Edayarpakkam, Ekanapuram, Gunagarambakkam, Mahadevimangalam, Siinglibadi and Maduramangalam.
