Tamil Nadu - Chennai

"Come clean on airport land issue"

K. Manikandan

Residents ask Centre, State to address their concerns

FUELLING PROTESTS: Several residents' groups in suburban Tambaram fear a loss of land and livelihood on account of the Chennai airport modernisation programme. — Photo: A.Muralitharan

TAMBARAM : On a day marked by widespread protests, residents' groups in areas identified for land acquisition as part of the Chennai airport modernisaton programme, have urged the State and Central Governments as well as the Airports Authority of India to address their concerns without further delay.

In a demonstration of their show of strength and unity, residents will join the Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s procession from the Madras Institute of Technology to the Tambaram Taluk office on Monday morning.

During meetings held in areas that come under the land acquisition scheme, residents repeatedly wanted to know how and why areas not on the original list figured in the plan all of a sudden. Residents said if expansion of the airport was unavoidable, the least the government agencies could do was to take the people into confidence.

They took strong exception to the government's announcement of handing over their land on a platter to the AAI, free of cost. D. Rajendran, a farmer in Gowl Bazaar, wanted to know if it was within the powers of the governments or Constitutionally valid to wipe out an entire village panchayat from existence.

"We are human beings and not weeds to be pulled out of our roots," he remarked.

Stating that crores of public money had been spent on welfare works, including the construction of a school building with assistance from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development less than two months ago, farmers who fear loss of prime cultivable land said the money spent would be a colossal waste.

Residents said the rehabilitation of some 50,000 people was not practical. Gowl Bazaar farmers said the promised compensation had not reached them, even a decade after their land was acquired for airport expansion.

Chinnaponnu said she along with three of her family members handed over about 60 cents of land for the airport; though they were awarded Rs. 8 lakh as compensation, they had received only Rs. 3 lakh so far. They were waiting for the balance since 1991.

`Vested interests'

The residents alleged that while large areas of vacant land were available that could be used for expanding the airport, targetting neighbourhoods of the poor and middle class only showed that the vested interests of an influential section that controlled businesses, particularly real estate, were being protected.

During an interaction with residents in Anakaputhur in the evening, M.A. Vaidyalingam, Tambaram MLA, urged the residents not to panic.

"This is only a proposal. This is not final or the end as it may or may not be accepted," he said.

The decision of the people would prevail, he said..

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