The TVK government’s decision to drop or annul several projects initiated by the previous DMK government has drawn a mixed response from the public, but its alleged “dual stand” on land acquisition for development projects has come under strong criticism.
The government shelved the proposed Parandur greenfield airport citing concerns over its impact on farmers. However, its stand on the proposed greenfield airport in Hosur has drawn questions, with critics asking why the impact on farmers should be treated differently in the two cases.
BJP functionary Selvakumar said the new TVK government could be called a “Cancel Govt” after cancelling the Parandur airport project, and alleged that it was now moving towards cancelling the Global Sports City project as well. He also said several critical infrastructure projects were either on hold or stalled due to lack of funds.
During its nearly four months in power, the TVK government has shelved projects including the Coimbatore cricket stadium, Guindy-Velachery corridor, ECR elevated corridor, Metro to Parandur, Parandur Airport and the Global Sports City project.
At the same time, the cancellation of the Rs.6.4 crore temple commercial complex proposed near the Arunachaleswarar Temple in Thiruvannamalai and 46 temple-linked infrastructure projects was welcomed by sections of the public.
Barely six months after the foundation stone was laid, the Tamil Nadu government dropped the Rs.261 crore Global Sports City project at Semmancherry. The project is now set to go back to the drawing board, with plans to redesign it on a larger scale to host major national and international sports events.
A netizen said that after nearly 20 years of legal battle, the Tamil Nadu government had reclaimed 91 acres of government land, allegedly encroached upon by the Jeppiaar Educational Trust at Semmenchery on OMR. The proposed Sports City was to come up on the land and ground works had already begun, the netizen said.
Another social media user, Tony Soprano, alleged that the land occupied by the Jeppiaar group had been seized by the previous DMK government, which had planned to develop a world-class sports village there. He questioned the TVK government’s decision to cancel the project and referred to TVK Finance Minister N Marie Wilson and the Jeppiaar group.
Social media activist Prince said the Jeppiaar Educational Trust had encroached upon 91.4 acres of land valued at Rs.2,000 crore and alleged that the land was retrieved after 20 years by the DMK government. He said the DMK government had planned to develop the Global Sports City at an estimated cost of Rs.206 crore, with work orders issued, and that the project was proposed on 112 acres of land.
Social media activist Sumanth Raman questioned the number of projects that would be cancelled, asking whether projects would be scrapped simply because they had been initiated by the previous government.
Experts have raised concerns over continuity in public planning, saying changes in government should not compromise infrastructure priorities. They said repeated scrapping or repurposing of major projects could raise concerns over long-term fiscal and urban planning.
Hosur airport raises questions over land acquisition
In the Assembly, Hosur AIADMK MLA P Balakrishna Reddy on August 28 urged the TVK government to reconsider the proposed greenfield airport in Hosur over concerns raised by farmers.
He said the government had respected farmers’ concerns in Parandur and dropped the proposed airport there, and urged it to adopt a similar approach in Hosur.
Responding to him, Leader of the House and Revenue Minister KA Sengottaiyan said acquisition of agricultural land was inevitable for implementing development projects.
“Whenever a project has to be brought in, agricultural land has to be acquired. There is no other way,” he said.
He rejected the former AIADMK minister’s demand that agricultural land should not be acquired for the proposed airport, calling the demand impractical.
The contrasting positions on Parandur and Hosur have since triggered criticism from political opponents and social media users.
YouTuber Sangi Prince questioned the government’s reasoning, saying that if farmers would be affected by the Parandur airport, the same question should apply to industrial projects.
The Tamil Nadu BJP also questioned the government’s position, asking why the same concern over farmers was being viewed differently in Parandur and Hosur.
CPM state secretary OP Shanmugam urged the TVK government to return the land acquired from farmers for the Parandur airport project after the government dropped the proposal.
Earlier, Industries Minister S Keerthana had said the land acquired for the Parandur airport project would be used for alternative industrial projects.
Questions over finances and government spending
The criticism over infrastructure projects has also been linked to concerns over the state government’s finances.
AIADMK general secretary Edapadi K Palaniswamy, speaking at Dharmapuri on August 22, alleged that one minister had described farmers as “mafia”. He also criticised the TVK government over what he described as an accumulation of Rs.28,000 crore in debt during its 100-day period.
YouTuber Kishore K Swamy said in a post on X that the TVK government had borrowed Rs.12,043.84 crore in July alone and Rs.32,925.09 crore between April and July. He also criticised Finance Minister Marie Wilson over his pilgrimage-related activities.
Critics have also questioned government spending decisions, alleging that the government had cited a lack of funds while announcing financial allocations and other benefits during debates on grants.
The government has announced that all 234 MLAs would be provided cars for constituency-related work, along with Rs.75,000 per month towards drivers, fuel and maintenance and Rs.25,000 towards an assistant. Critics calculated the recurring expenditure at Rs.1 lakh per MLA per month, or Rs.2.34 crore a month for 234 MLAs, besides the cost of the vehicles.
Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin said on August 22 that none of the 59 DMK MLAs would accept the new cars offered by the government for constituency-related work.
He said DMK members did not need government cars and argued that, considering the economic situation of the state, the vehicles should instead be provided to those facing difficulties. He also suggested that vehicles should be provided to MLAs after considering the assets declared in their election affidavits.
Madras Advocate Srimathi Venkatachari said the government should demonstrate that it was facilitating public duty rather than financing private convenience.
She said there was an elementary distinction between what an office requires and what an office holder finds convenient, adding that public office is a trust and not a hospitality package.
The criticism has placed the TVK government’s decisions on land acquisition, infrastructure continuity and public expenditure under renewed scrutiny, particularly over whether development priorities are being applied consistently across projects.
