Residents' views to be considered during land acquisition

Staff Reporter

Officials questioned on airport project





TAMBARAM: The Kancheepuram district administration has told residents of Pozhichalur that their views and agitations against the land acquisition scheme for the proposed Chennai airport expansion project would be considered at the time of acquisition.

S. Mahalakshmi and five other residents of Commissioner colony in Pozhichalur had sent a petition to revenue officials asking them 14 questions on the airport expansion project under the provisions of the Right to Information Act on April 29 this year. The residents received a reply on June 22. On their query whether the officials were aware of the agitation by residents of Pozhichalur and nearby areas and what they had to say, officials replied to the residents that they were aware of the protest and that their views "would be considered at the time of acquisition".

To a specific query, on the areas in Kancheepuram district, that were to be acquired for the proposed expansion project, the officials said the areas included Anakaputhur, Pozhichalur, Gowl Bazaar, Cantonment-Pallavaram, Pammal, Tharapakkam, Manapakkam, Kolapakkam and Gerugambakkam.

They also said the land that was proposed to be acquired for the project was 583 hectares
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PRESS RELEASE

New Delhi, the 21st June 06



THIRU. T.R. BAALU MEETS CIVIL AVIATION MINISTER FOR EXPANSION PLANS OF CHENNAI AIRPORT



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Pursuant to the fervent appeals by the people of Pozhichalur, Pammal, Anakaputhur and Couul Bazaar, and concerns raised by the public representatives, Thiru. T. R. Baalu, Hon’ble Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways met Thiru. Praful Patel, Hon’ble Union Civil Aviation Minister to apprise him of the concerns of the local residents of the area on Government’s plan for expansion of the Airport / New International Airport in Chennai.



Thiru. T. R. Baalu apprised the Union Civil Aviation Minister that the acquisition of land in these areas would greatly affect more than 50,000 residents living in over 5000 dwelling units who mostly belong to the downtrodden sections of the society. With a view to have a meaningful appreciation of the issue, the Union Civil Aviation Minister deputed a high-level team of officials comprising of Thiru. K. Ramalingam, Chairman, Airports Authority of India, Thiru. Sanjay Narayan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Thiru. Harpal Singh, General Manager of the Airports Authority of India who called on Thiru. T. R. Baalu here today.



During the meeting, the Civil Aviation Ministry officials explained the existing plan of action in respect of the project on which Thiru. Baalu highlighted the need of considering more options / alternatives with regard to the project by the Airports Authority of India. In view of the resentment expressed by the local people on the current plan of the Airports Authority of India, he also stressed that the existing plan and the newly explored options / alternatives should be discussed with all stake-holders especially with State Government before arriving at any final decision.



The officials of the Civil Aviation Ministry explained that they had an open mind over the issue of the expansion of the existing airport or to select a new location for the International Airport. They also assured Thiru. Baalu that considering these aspects, they would have a re-look on their plans and consider the view of the stake-holders and the final course of action would be decided after proper consultations with the State Government.





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Villagers protest land acquisition


Kancheepuram,June 19: Hundreds of people belonging to villages near Meenambakkam held a demonstration in front of the collectorate here today, protesting against "lack of transparency" in the airport expansion project involving acquisition of land in the neighbouring areas.

The people belonged to Anakaputhur, Polichalur, Pammal and Cowl Bazar. The panchayats of these villages had passed resolutions refusing to allow any land acquisition to be done in these villages, Sivarajan, representative of the federation of the villages, said.

The protesers wanted to know why land in these villages should be acquired while initially it had been stated that only areas north of Meenambakkam were to be acquired.

Sivarajan said when the airport modernisation and upgradation programme was mooted during 2001,villages north of Meenambakkam were cited as being marked for the acquisition.In 2005, the then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had also released a list of villages. But without any notice, the Metro Development Authority had told people of the four villages that their areas were also being acquired for expansion, he alleged.

They later submitted a memorandum to the district collector. (Agencies)

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"Issue clear statement on airport modernisation project"

Staff Reporter

Set up an airport that does not affect human habitation: residents

TAMBARAM: The State and Central governments and the Airports Authority of India should issue a lucid statement on the status of the Chennai International Airport modernisation project and whether the project involved acquiring land , residents of Pozhichalur said on Saturday.

Briefing reporters, members of the Federation of Residents Welfare Associations of Pozhichalur said that for the past three months they staged protests, demonstrations apart from meeting officials and elected representatives to elicit their opinion. Despite this, none had come forward with a clear statement on the project.

"We have been asking only one thing repeatedly - transparency on the part of government agencies," said the president of the Federation D. Selvarajan. "We urge the State government and the Airports Authority of India to stick to their original plan of airport expansion or at least set up an airport which will not affect human habitation," he said.

Vice-president of the Pozhichalur Village Panchayat Pon Rathinam refuted the reports, which said that people were divided on this issue and only those who possessed land documents were spearheading the struggle all this while.

People living in the `grama natham' areas for a long time and who do not have pattas too were against this scheme, he said.

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Decision on Chennai airport soon

V. Jayanth

Will the city get a new airport or will just another terminal be added? Will the city get a new airport or will just another terminal be added?

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New terminal can be built in 18-24 months Three years needed to develop a new airport New airport will cost around Rs. 2000 crore CONGESTED, CROWDED: Chennai's airport crying for attention. — File photo CHENNAI: The Planning Commission and the Civil Aviation Ministry have agreed to decide the scope and shape of the Chennai and Kolkata airport projects within three months. The Airports Authority of India and the Tamil Nadu Government are also working out plans for the Chennai airport. But the basic issue that needs to be examined is whether the city needs a new airport or just an expansion. . Over the past few years, there have been several proposals on the Chennaiproject — the Aviation Ministry and the AAI have their own views; the previous AIADMK regime submitted a proposal to the Centre for a joint venture and even offered land; and Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran has been pushing the Centre to clear the modernisation project, even though it could not be taken up with those in New Delhi and Mumbai. AAI may handle project Both the Chennai and Kolkata projects are expected to be handled by the AAI, along with 35 other domestic airports. But the metro projects will be on the fast track and on a much larger scale. The Chennai project ran into complications after agitations by resident associations from around Meenambakkam and Pallavaram over the land acquisition notices. Hence, it is important for the authorities to decide on and announce the location and scope of the project. According to AAI estimates, a new greenfield airport can be built at a cost of about Rs. 2,000 crore. The organisation claims to have both the competence and the resources to execute the project. This will be in another location, a little away from the present airport and consequently, further away from the city. The other option is to just expand the present airport and build another terminal, for which the estimated cost is Rs. 600 crore to Rs. 650 crore. The existing Anna and Kamaraj terminals can be clubbed together to form a larger domestic terminal, while a new international one can perhaps be built on the other side of the runway. Growth in traffic Given the growth in international and domestic traffic, as well as the increasing number of airlines and flights, there is a view that it is time to develop a new airport. This can be designed and equipped to handle the growth in passenger traffic for another decade or more. According to AAI, the passenger traffic from Chennai in March was 43.2 per cent more in the corresponding period last year, and the aircraft movement shot up by 37.5 per cent. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said the State Government would be consulted on the project and scope. All that remains for the State to do is to finalise the extent of expansion and the investment required. It must also ensure that enough land is made available, without delay. AAI sources say a new terminal can be built in 18 to 24 months, while it may take up to three years to develop a new airport. Once a decision is taken on the same, they hope things will move swiftly.

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Airport issue: residents resume agitation

Staff Reporter

Call to take part in protests with greater intensity

# Pozhichalur residents seeking land pattas told the land documents could not be issued due to the airport project
# Agitation to start with an "awareness padayatra" on June 11

TAMBARAM: Residents of Pozhichalur and nearby areas that are likely to be affected if the State and Central Governments go ahead with the proposed Chennai airport modernisation programme, have decided to resume their agitation with greater intensity.

The decision was taken on Wednesday evening by residents from Pozhichalur, Anakaputhur, Pammal and Gowl Bazaar among others following a note from the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority and statements from revenue officials of the Kancheepuram district administration. A resident, P. Narayanan Nambiar of Police Commissioner Colony, said he approached the CMDA in March this year to allow him to build a house on a vacant plot he owned in Pozhichalur. But officials turned it down orally.

Following this, he wrote to the Member Secretary, CMDA, on May 23 and sought details on whether it would grant him permission for building the house and whether the land which he owned in Survey No. 236 in Pozhichalur came under the proposed land acquisition for the airport project. He sought the details under provisions of the Right to Information Act, 6 (1).

The CMDA replied to him on May 30 stating that as per the map available with them, the Survey No. 236 in Pozhichalur village "lies under Primary Residential use Zone and also affected by the proposal for international airport in Kancheepuram district." Further, the note made it clear that it was only for information and that any sub-division or construction of building or development in the land in question was not valid in law "unless planning permission is applied for and duly granted for that sub-division, construction or development."

After receipt of this reply from CMDA, residents panicked and during the meeting, they said the issue of acquiring their land for the airport proposed was now "staring at their face" and none of them could afford to be complacent any longer. Moreover, a section of residents in Pozhichalur area who visited a `jamaabandhi' meeting at the Tambaram taluk to seek land pattas were told the land documents could not be issued due to the airport project. Speakers at the meeting criticised the Government for the development and decided to intensity their agitation starting with an "awareness padayatra" on June 11 in all those areas that would be affected by the proposed land acquisition scheme for the airport project.



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