Parandur Airport Project: What Happens to Acquired Land?

The Tamil Nadu government has decided to halt the ₹27,400 crore greenfield airport project at Parandur. Now, people are wondering what will happen to the land that was acquired for this project.

Since August 2022, when the Union Government approved the site for the airport, local villagers and farmers have been protesting against it. They were concerned about losing their homes and the potential environmental impact, as the area is rich in water bodies.

In January 2025, before becoming Chief Minister, C. Joseph Vijay visited Parandur and supported the protesters. After taking office in May 2026, he stopped the project entirely.

The government needed 5,846 acres of land for the airport. Out of this, 1,972 acres were government-owned, including 1,558 acres of water bodies. The remaining 3,874 acres belonged to private owners, and about half of that (1,802 acres) was acquired.

The acquisition followed the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Act, 2013. This law allows the government to return land if it isn’t used within five years or sell it with a share of profits for private owners.

The government hasn’t taken possession of the acquired land but owns it through the Industries Department. If unused, the land could be returned to its original owners or sold under specific conditions.

In similar cases, like the Jayankondam project, the government returned land without recovering compensation. The Tamil Nadu Housing Board has also faced issues with unused land and has started returning some parcels acquired years ago.

A panel of experts recently examined how to handle unutilized land, including the Parandur case. Their report may offer solutions for managing this situation.