Twelve Adi Andhra (Scheduled Caste) families of permanent Sriperumbudur town panchayat sanitation workers have waited more than 40 years for Kanchipuram district administration to issue pattas for plots on government poramboke land in Illaneer Kulam, on the town’s outskirts.

The workers’ parents and grandparents were brought from united Andhra Pradesh more than 50 years ago to work as sanitation workers in Kanchipuram and settled on the plots. A representative petitioned the Chengai MGR district collector on October 12, 1994, seeking free pattas and housing under government directives.

Sriperumbudur Town Panchayat passed resolutions on January 7, 2004, and in October 2013 (No. 368/2013), approving three cents of land for each family. The 2013 resolution said they had then waited 30 years; petitioner A Gaja, 53, was named in the 2004 resolution. The families recently petitioned the director of Municipal Administration in Chennai and fear displacement without title deeds. The district administration did not respond to requests for comment.

Tamil Nadu may use land acquired for the proposed ₹27,000-crore Parandur greenfield airport for industries after shelving the project. Environmental groups warn that industries, warehouses or other infrastructure could affect wetlands, irrigation tanks, floodplains and drainage channels.

A Uvakai Research Foundation assessment linked the site to the Cooum and Adyar river basins and said it supports flood moderation, groundwater recharge and downstream flow regulation. It said the airport pre-feasibility study did not adequately assess runoff, cumulative basin impacts or flood risks downstream, including in Chennai.

A state expert committee led by retired IAS officer S Machendranathan was formed in February 2023 to assess hydrological suitability, including concerns about obstruction of the Kamban Canal. Experts from Anna University, IIT Madras and the water resources department were members; the report has not been made public, and TIDCO refused disclosure requests, including under RTI.

A 2025 state planning commission report found all 94 “highly heat intensified” blocks had significant urban growth. Sriperumbudur, Kundrathur, Poonamallee and Minjur were among them.

Chennai-based GT Bharathi Group plans WTC Kanchipuram, a 500-acre integrated industrial township in the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam belt, with potential development costs of about ₹4,000 crore over 10-12 years. The group is discussing the project with Guidance Tamil Nadu and SIPCOT and has a World Trade Centers Association licence to develop a World Trade Center business in Kanchipuram and Chengalpattu districts.

The proposed township would combine industrial units, housing, hotels, schools and entertainment facilities. Industrial development would use 50-55% of the land; residential and social uses, 35-40%; and green and supporting infrastructure, the remainder. It is aimed at suppliers and China+1 manufacturers, including Tier-2 and Tier-3 firms in electronics, electrical and electronic components, auto components and industrial equipment.

GT Bharathi’s other Tamil Nadu WTC project is an IT-centric mixed-use development on 300 acres along the OMR-Chengalpattu corridor, with about ₹7,000 crore in investment over 10-15 years. The WTCA network connects WTC businesses across nearly 100 countries and territories.

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s government is no longer pushing the proposed ₹27,400-crore Parandur greenfield airport, citing impacts on waterbodies across 13 villages and insufficient space for a runway. Developers have stopped using the airport in promotions. P.S. Mahesh of Banyan Tree Estates said his seven-acre, DTCP-approved villa layout at Pudupattu near Sunguvarchatram was marketed around the airport; his Aerovilla project’s prices had risen ₹50–₹100 per sq. ft monthly until May. They now remain at ₹1,300 per sq. ft, rather than the expected ₹1,500; plots near the existing Chennai–Bengaluru National Highway are around ₹2,500 per sq. ft. Enquiries have dwindled, and market sources estimate land prices have fallen roughly 30%, though corrections vary by micro-market. Samsung, Dell, Foxconn, the Mappedu dry port, Chennai Peripheral Road and the new Chennai–Bengaluru expressway support longer-term growth. Projects in the wider Parandur–Sriperumbudur–Kancheepuram corridor include G Square Realtors, Urban Tree Sameera Lands & Construction, DRA, StepStone, Premier Housing & Properties, GTK Foundations, VGN, ABI Estates and JR Properties. The proposed Sriperumbudur airport, announced in 2006, was abandoned.

Three years after 44 Irular tribal families in Sriperumbudur taluk were given land titles in Mannur village, the Kancheepuram district administration initiated construction of houses with a Bhumi pooja ceremony. Since November 2021, 88 families awarded land titles have been waiting for home construction. Families currently live in hutments near waterbodies without electricity, basic sanitation, and face threats from snakes and bugs. Construction will occur at two sites: Mannur near a global logistics firm office, and Katrambakkam. Funds come from Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Housing and Development Corporation (TAHDCO) under the Tholkudi scheme for tribals. Construction targeted to start May 1 and complete by October before North-East Monsoon. Timeline announced after Irular welfare organisations protested before taluk officials and met with Tamil Nadu Tribal Welfare director S Annadurai.