The collapse of the Parandur greenfield airport project appears to be less a story of villagers defeating the state than of the DMK government’s spectacular failure to build political consensus for one of Tamil Nadu’s biggest infrastructure projects.
A report published by Mint details how the previous DMK government spent nearly three years trying to acquire land for the proposed ₹27,400-crore airport, only to encounter unrelenting resistance from Ekanapuram, a village of roughly 2,500 residents that ultimately brought the project to a standstill.
According to the report, the government offered compensation exceeding ₹2.5 crore per acre and promised fully built rehabilitation houses. Yet not a single resident of Ekanapuram agreed to part with land. Villagers even warned officials against entering the village for acquisition proceedings, while the protest committee maintained complete unity across caste and political lines to resist attempts to divide them.
The irony is difficult to miss. Tamil Nadu has long been cited as a state where political negotiation, patronage and generous compensation have enabled governments to push through large projects. Yet in this case, a government that prided itself on administrative efficiency failed to persuade a single village despite offering one of the highest land compensation packages in the country.
The report notes that the agitation continued uninterrupted for more than 1,100 days. Villagers organised hunger strikes, road blockades, water protests, head-tonsuring demonstrations and even boycotted the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Political leaders across parties, including Naam Tamilar Katchi chief Seeman and activist Medha Patkar, visited the village over the course of the agitation.
Despite eventually acquiring around 1,700 acres through a “special project” mechanism, the DMK government never managed to secure Ekanapuram’s consent. The report further states that a committee constituted to address villagers’ concerns reportedly submitted its findings, but the report was never made public. A Right to Information response allegedly claimed disclosure would affect Tamil Nadu’s development.
The issue eventually acquired political significance after actor Vijay made Parandur his first major field-level protest following the launch of Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), promising to scrap the project if elected. With TVK now in power and ministers indicating that alternative sites are being explored, the airport proposal has effectively been put on hold.
Rather than demonstrating that major infrastructure projects cannot overcome local resistance, the Parandur episode raises a different question: how did a government with overwhelming administrative resources, political influence and generous compensation fail to convince a village of just over 2,500 people? In a state often regarded as the pioneer of a political economy where almost every stakeholder can be accommodated, the inability to secure consensus in Ekanapuram may ultimately prove to be the DMK’s biggest failure in the Parandur saga.
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