Chennai, Sep 19 (SocialNews.XYZ) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vanathi Sreenivasan has sought an explanation from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay over his reported letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting a change in Chennai airport management.
Vanathi said the Chief Minister should disclose the reasons for seeking the replacement of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which currently operates and manages the airport. She questioned whether the proposal aimed to hand over the airport’s management to a private company.
The BJP leader said Chennai airport was a profit-making facility that handled nearly 2.24 crore passengers during 2024–25. She maintained that the airport continued to perform well under AAI management despite operational constraints.
Vanathi also pointed out that the Union government had undertaken expansion and modernisation projects at Chennai airport at an estimated cost of Rs 2,467 crore. The development work was intended to improve passenger facilities and substantially increase the airport’s handling capacity.
She said the Tamil Nadu government must explain why it wanted to change the operator when the Centre was already investing heavily in improving the airport’s infrastructure.
The Chief Minister had reportedly written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August, seeking a new operator for Chennai airport. Vijay was said to have highlighted the need for world-class infrastructure and better management to support Tamil Nadu’s efforts to attract industrial investment. The state government reportedly identified passenger handling, aircraft movements, and cargo capacity as areas requiring improvement.
The proposal was widely viewed as an attempt to bring private-sector management to the airport.
Vanathi said the issue involved an important public asset and therefore required complete transparency. She urged the Chief Minister to release the contents of his communication to the Prime Minister and clarify whether he had consulted stakeholders before making the request.
She also called upon Vijay to withdraw the letter if the proposal was intended to privatise Chennai airport.
Source: IANS
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