TN: ‘ New Airport Would Make us Refugees in Our Own Land’ Say, Villagers

Tamil Nadu: Protests against the proposed greenfield airport for Chennai are getting stronger by the day. The people are asking if it is absolutely necessary to build an airport by destroying agricultural land and residential areas.

The state government recently offered a price of 3.5 times the market value for their land in compensation, but the residents have turned the offer down.

Police have beefed up security at the proposed site as chances of more protests loom over the region.

The local people have been sceptical about the proposed airport since 2018 when surveys were conducted in the region. Now, many political parties have stepped in; they are visiting the villages to study the impact of the airport on the livelihoods of the people and to extend solidarity with the protests.

The project is said to acquire more than 4,500 acres of land from 13 villages in Kanchipuram. The government plans to uproot around 1,000 families and relocate them with appropriate compensation.

NewsClick team visited Parandur and other villages where locals are protesting against the move to build a second airport for Chennai.

SPARE FERTILE LAND AND RESIDENTIAL AREAS

NewsClick interacted with many villagers and found that they are not opposed to the airport in toto, they are only opposed to acquiring fertile agricultural land, water bodies and residential areas.

People would lose out on grazing land.

Durgadevi, a petty shop owner said, “the Meenambakkam airport in Chennai is only 1,500 acres. Even take 3,000 acres here, spare the rest.”

S D Kadiresan, a farmer from Eganapuram said, “they are taking 4,700 acres of land for the airport, out of which 3,500 are Nanjai, Punjai lands. Around 1,500 acres are water bodies - lakes, ponds, tanks, streams, etc.”

Nanjai refers to land with plenty of water, and Punjai is with few bodies of water.

Fertile farmland around Parandur

Sekhar, a real-estate broker said, “our entire village is only 1,000 acres, out of which 35-40 acres is the residential area. We request that the ooru is avoided and the runway is pushed to 1,000 acres on that side. If the ooru area is needed, everything has to be vacated. The water tank, school, houses… This road was laid recently, spending several crores, that has to be destroyed.”

He further questioned, “without considering all this, minister Thennarasu said ‘we are investing in people’s livelihoods’. How is this an investment?”

UNCERTAIN FUTURES

The villagers are worried for their futures as they would lose their houses, farms and all the infrastructural progress made so far.

Infrastructure would be lost with the upcoming airport.

Durgadevi said, “we own a shop here. If we are relocated, can we open a shop in the new place? Will we be allowed to set up shop in the main area? If we are affected in every way, how is this development?”

She added, “the government is promising jobs for one person per family. What work will we get at the airport? Should we be sweeping and cleaning toilets there?”

Pushpin Raj, a youngster, said, “if relocated we will regress 100 years back. Now we have a school here, if it has to be built from scratch when will these children go to school?”

He said, “due to Corona students did not go to school for long, and many of them failed in the recent exam. How will they study? When will a new school be constructed?”

The middle school in Eganapuram

“Some people own ⅕ a cent of the land, others own 1, 2 or 3 acres according to their ability. The SC people do not own land here. They only have houses in 2 cents of land under the thoguppu veedu and Amma pasumai veedu government schemes. How will the government compensate for this?” asked Sekhar.

“People built these houses taking loans from various banks. It doesn’t look like the government will compensate for all that,” he added.

He further said, “every family has degree holders, what will happen to them? People will not even get housekeeping jobs in the airport. Only people from other states will get work. So people are very worried, we are sleepless at night”.

Unable to find other jobs, many of the graduates are farmers in the villages here. If relocated, they will lose their farms.

Agriculture is the primary occupation here, and many are dependent on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA) work. Only a handful of people work in the industries nearby and other unorganised sectors

Many villagers are dependent on the MGNREGA scheme work

‘OUR VILLAGE WOULD VANISH’

According to the new airport sketch, every bit of Eganapuram village would be acquired for the airport, and the runways would come up there. The village has approximately 250 families with 650 voters.

“If you look at my land Patta, my father and grandfather’s names are on them. If you relocate us, we would become refugees in our own land. It is not possible to be compensated for our land,” said Kadiresan.

He added, “the minister says this locality will develop economically. If you travel seven km from here, you will find 30,000 sacks of paddy waiting to be accumulated. This is production, this will bring development to the nation. Is this airport so important that agriculture should be destroyed?”

Sacks of paddy from the recent harvest in the region

Sekhar said, “if this village is acquired for the airport, it would disappear as the village Attipatti vanishes under the sea in a movie. Our people will scatter away. Our ancestors are lying in the graves here, and they will disappear. Our temples will be brought down. We have been living here generation after generation. Should the government ruin our lives and bring up this airport?

In the 2001 Tamil movie Citizen, the inhabitants of the seaside hamlet Attipatti, are killed and the village is made to disappear from the map.

‘AIRPORT DOES NOT BENEFIT US’

The people of the 13 villages are angry that the government did not take opinions from them before proposing the airport sketch. Even the recent public hearing did not take place.

The villagers strongly feel that the airport would not uplift their livelihoods as promised and it only facilitates companies in the region and is a gain to industrialists.

Pushpin Raj said, “the airport is coming up here because of the many companies around here. None of the villagers will be travelling by flight, they never have. It will be a profit for these industries and a loss for the farmers”.

He further added, “we can only protest. What else can we do? If we hold black flags, the police show up. We don’t know how it is going to be in the coming days”.

Kadiresan said, “according to the Minister's announcement 100 permanent and 600 indirect employment would be given. How can you occupy 4,700 acres for that? There is a CEAT company nearby, very few villagers work there, and that too on contract.”

Durgadevi said, “they said Stalin will bring dawn to Tamil Nadu? Looks like he’ll bring dawn destroying these 12 villages. During elections they gave false promises, they said they will ensure the airport is stalled. Why are you cheating the people?”

The proposed airport is to be brought up along the Chennai-Bangalore National Highway and the upcoming speed road towards Arakkonam. There are three State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamilnadu Ltd (SIPCOT) around the area - in Irungattukottai, Mambakkam and Sriperumbudur, and 30 km from the area, at Oragadam.