Land acquisition for parallel runway on

Land acquisition for parallel runway on
A. Srivathsan and P. Oppili

Chennai: The process of acquiring about 1,069 acres of land for the parallel runway of the Chennai airport expansion project is on.

“There is no reconsideration of land acquisition,” says a senior revenue official. Both the secondary and parallel runways have been mapped in detail and the land required has been identified in the villages of Manapakkam, Kolapakkam, Gerugambakkam, Tarapakkam and Kovur on the northern side of the Chennai airport.

“The survey numbers are being enumerated and the acquisition is in the process. Notices will be shortly sent,” says a government source.

So far, the Tamil Nadu government has acquired 126.59 acres in Kolapakkam and Manapakkam villages in the Sriperumbudur taluk for the secondary runway and has handed over the land to the Airports Authority of India.

The cost of acquiring 126 acres is about Rs.100 crore. It is estimated that the cost of acquiring the entire area measuring 1,069 acres will be about Rs. 1,000 crore.

This high cost of land acquisition had raised doubts about the financial viability of the parallel runway project.

However, the government source says that there is no reconsideration or rethinking.

http://www.hindu.com/2008/10/31/stories/2008103150120100.htm