A heated exchange took place in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly over the proposed Hosur airport after DMK Veppanahalli MLA Srinivasan alleged that Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka were taking steps that could prevent the establishment of an airport in Krishnagiri district, as reported in ETV Bharat.
The remarks came during the debate on the Tamil Nadu Budget, when Srinivasan asked Industries Minister Keerthana when an airport would be established in Krishnagiri.
“If an airport is not built in Krishnagiri district, the future development work of the district will be greatly affected. Efforts are being made to build a new airport in the state to shut down the industry in Krishnagiri district and divert the industry here to Andhra Pradesh.”
Srinivasan also alleged that Karnataka was attempting to prevent the airport from coming to the state.
“Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar is also making additional efforts to build an airport in Krishnagiri district to prevent it from coming to the state. As both states are taking steps to build an airport in their areas, Krishnagiri district will not get an airport. This will have a huge impact on the industrial development and various development works of the district in the future.”
He urged the government to act urgently.
“Considering the industrial development of Krishnagiri district, the government should urgently take steps to establish an airport.”
Responding to the allegations, Industries Minister Keerthana questioned the basis of the information presented by the MLA.
“False information should not be conveyed in the Legislative Assembly based on information published on social media without evidence.”
Srinivasan replied, “I informed the House of those details based on the information that was conveyed to me.”
Speaker JCT Prabhakar then intervened, saying, “The legislator has stated the information he received. The minister should speak with evidence.”
ஓசூர் விமான நிலைய விவகாரம்:
திமுக எம்எல்ஏ கருத்து… ஆதாரம் கேட்ட அமைச்சர் கீர்த்தனா #Keerthana #HosurAirport #News18Tamilnadu pic.twitter.com/8G6rXK0HzM
— News18 Tamil Nadu (@News18TamilNadu) August 11, 2026
Reports Have Documented Hurdles to Hosur Airport
The Minister’s insistence on evidence is notable because several of the hurdles facing the proposed Hosur airport have already been reported by established newspapers, rather than being based solely on social media claims.
The Times of India, in a report published on 3 December 2025, reported that the Centre had excluded Hosur from the list of airports to be developed under the UDAN regional connectivity scheme because of a 150-km restriction arising from the concession agreement between the Centre and Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL).
In a Rajya Sabha reply, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said, “Hosur airport could not be taken up under UDAN due to the 150km restriction under the concession agreement with BIAL (Bangalore International Airport Limited), and was therefore removed from subsequent rounds.”
The agreement bars the development of a new or existing airport within 150 km of Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru until 2033. Hosur is approximately 80 km from Bengaluru airport.
The report also noted that Tamil Nadu was pursuing the proposed international airport independently rather than seeking funding under UDAN. The state has proposed the airport over more than 2,300 acres at Shoolagiri, east of Hosur, with a planned capacity of up to three crore passengers annually. TIDCO is the nodal agency for the project and was selecting a consultant to prepare a detailed techno-economic report.
The Hindu, in a report published on 17 January 2026, reported another major hurdle: the Ministry of Defence had rejected the Tamil Nadu government’s request for the airspace relaxation required for the Hosur airport.
The region’s airspace is controlled by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), making Defence Ministry clearance a key requirement.
“The Ministry communicated in a letter last week that HAL needed the airspace and denied the request. Now, the State government will begin evaluating it options on the further course of action and what needs to be done,” a source told The Hindu.
The Tamil Nadu government had approached the Ministry of Defence in June 2025 seeking airspace relaxation, but the request was rejected. In November, the state’s Chief Secretary submitted a detailed response, including the proposed airport’s coordinates and arguments that the project could be implemented without operational hindrance to HAL.
“It is disappointing that the request has been denied even without a discussion. If a meeting was held between the Tamil Nadu Government and Ministry of Defence, the government could have had a chance to explain,” another source said.
The proposed airport also faces a requirement for an impact study from the Ministry of Civil Aviation. After Tamil Nadu submitted its site clearance proposal, the Ministry sought an assessment of whether the proposed Hosur airport would affect passenger traffic at the existing Bengaluru and Salem airports. TIDCO is required to conduct the study and submit it to the Ministry.
Questions Remain Over Minister’s “Authenticity” Objection
Against this backdrop, the Minister’s dismissal of the information as being based on unauthenticated material raises a separate question.
It is one thing to reject an allegation that Andhra Pradesh or Karnataka is deliberately attempting to block the Hosur airport without supporting evidence. It is another to dismiss the broader concerns surrounding the project when specific hurdles have been reported by reputed newspapers and, in the case of the UDAN restriction, are based on an official statement made in Parliament.
The Times of India report specifically cited the Centre’s position on the 150-km restriction, while The Hindu reported the Defence Ministry’s rejection of the state’s request on airspace grounds.
If these reports are “not authentic”, the relevant question is therefore which specific facts reported by the newspapers are incorrect.
The Minister could clarify whether the Centre’s stated position on the BIAL concession agreement is incorrect, whether the Defence Ministry did not reject the airspace request, or whether the reported requirements concerning site clearance and the impact study are inaccurate.
Until such clarification is provided, simply stating that information should not be presented in the Assembly without evidence does not address the substantive questions surrounding the multiple regulatory hurdles already reported in connection with the Hosur airport project.
The project itself remains significant for Hosur and Krishnagiri, one of Tamil Nadu’s major industrial regions. The proposed airport is planned over nearly 2,300 acres with a capacity of around 30 million passengers annually.
The Centre had also previously indicated that it was open to supporting the project. In February 2026, Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said the Centre would take a positive approach towards Tamil Nadu’s efforts, while acknowledging the complication arising from the BIAL concession agreement.
“BIAL, government of India and Tamil Nadu have to sit together to arrive at a consensus,” he had said.
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