Chennai, Aug. 25 -- Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday announced that the proposed second airport for Chennai at Parandur will be dropped, drawing sharp criticism from former chief minister and DMK supremo MK Stalin, who termed the decision an "irreversible setback" for the state's growth. Parandur, about 60km west of Chennai, had witnessed prolonged protests by residents who opposed the greenfield airport, saying it would affect their livelihoods and agricultural land. Vijay said the government would propose a new airport at a location where there was no opposition from people. The new site would be finalised after a careful study of technical feasibility by expert teams, he said. The decision was taken to prevent the relocation of a large number of people and protect agricultural land, Vijay said, while criticising the previous DMK government for selecting a largely populated area. Former chief minister M K Stalin had announced the Parandur project on August 2, 2022, at an estimated cost of Rs.20,000 crore. The airport was expected to have an annual capacity of 10 crore passengers. Residents of Parandur and nearby villages subsequently protested for more than a year. In January 2025, Vijay, then president of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, joined the protest at Parandur and extended his party's support to the villagers. Stalin on Monday criticised the decision, saying, "Dropping Parandur airport project is not change, it's an irreversible setback for Tamil Nadu's growth." He said scrapping the project would set Tamil Nadu's development back by several years and alleged that the state's interests were being compromised for narrow political gains. He also called the announcement, made under Rule No. 110 without an opportunity for debate, "deeply troubling." "The site was carefully selected after evaluating all available alternatives, and the land acquisition process has been almost completed," Stalin said. Stalin warned that identifying another site and restarting the process would significantly delay the project. Vijay said the new airport should not cause large-scale disruption to farmers or displace significant numbers of people. "Farmers are the backbone of the nation, and these people were protesting to protect their agricultural lands," he said. He said Meenambakkam airport would also be expanded. Passenger Terminal 3, once completed, will raise capacity to 35 million passengers annually. The DMK staged a walk-out after the Speaker declined its demand for a discussion on the Parandur airport....