Spl Meeting to Be Held in Delhi on Parandur Airport

A special meeting will be held in New Delhi soon with regard to the "in principle approval" sought by the Tamil Nadu government for Chennai's second airport at Parandur, Union Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu said on Thursday.

- Press Trust of India

CHENNAI:

The villagers and farmers of Parandur and neighboring villages have been opposing the greenfield airport project stating that it would take away their places including fertile lands.

Without going much into details, the civil aviation minister said the "site" for airport was identified by the state government and the Centre developed the project as it was keen on having more airports in the country.

"We are not the ones who select where the airport should be. It is the state government which proposes, selects, and asks for site clearance. Then we study the feasibility, the operation, navigation, and technicalities," the minister told reporters at the airport here.

So, any issue related to land lies with the state government, the minister said. "Wherever they show us the land, we conduct the feasibility study and tell them this is good for building an airport," Ram Mohan said in reply to a question.