Land acquisition For Coimbatore Airport Expansion Has Been Further Delayed

The expansion of Coimbatore International Airport in Tamil Nadu has suffered another setback as the land acquisition process, which was scheduled to be completed by the end of March, has been delayed.

Coimbatore Airport is at Peelamedu, 11 km from the city centre.

The total area of the area identified for the expansion of the airport is 627.89 acres, covering four villages (Singanallur, Uppilipalayam, Kalapatti, and Irugur) and a defense area.

Extending the runway length from the existing 9,500 feet to 12,500 feet, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will start the development work once it is completely acquired.

District Magistrate Kranthi Kumar Pati has instructed the Revenue Department team to complete the process by May 15. The husband confirmed this instruction and said that only minimum orders for land acquisition are pending. He expressed confidence in meeting the new deadline and said the pending works can be completed, The Hindu said.

The initial deadline of March 31 was missed due to the busyness of officials in various works related to the Lok Sabha elections. The first phase of elections was held in Tamil Nadu on 19 April, which diverted attention from the acquisition process.

However, work resumed immediately after the election, and the entire team was committed to working to the changed deadline.

Of the 35.33 acres of land earmarked for acquisition with administrative permission from the state government, about 14 acres are still reserved.

Notably, about 10 acres of this remaining land has been declared as open space reserve (OSR) land, which is “no cost land”, hence exempting the government from compensation. That’s why, according to insiders, only four acres of land remain to be acquired.

The specified acquisition area includes 468.83 acres of patta, 28.37 acres of Poramboke, 134.32 acres of defense land, and 3.30 acres of additional government land in Singanallur, Uppilipalayam, Kalapatti, Neelambur, and Irugur villages.