Chennai: Remorseful airport modernization

In past few decades Chennai locals have been robbed of several acres of their fertile land by their very own government. Many of them were yet to receive compensation for land taken over in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Once again this time history is ready to repeat itself; this time government is all set to acquire land of innocent locals for airport modernization and handed over to the Airports Authority of India for restructuring and modernization of the Chennai Airport.

According to the proposal, 3,210 buildings - including 1,899 pucca houses, 641 tiled houses, 670 huts, 11 temples, two churches, overhead water tanks, nearly a dozen government and school buildings - come under the acquisition area in Pozhichalur panchayat. The number is 853 in Anakaputhur, 190 in Gowl Bazaar and 46 in Pammal. This time residents have raised their arms for saving their land.

This proposed acquisition is going to displace around 15,000 people. Residents are of the view that they are not being treated fairly as their lands and houses are being demolished not for the modernization but in order to protect the hundreds of acres of adjoining areas in the northern side owned by politicians and real estate tycoons.

I think residents are fair on their part to criticize the proposal of government to clear residential and commercial areas as when there is ample land available in north where there is no construction and people at all. The State and Centre should come spotless with a clear approach on what precisely they intend to do.

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