Villupuram MP urges Centre to expedite handover of Ulundurpet airstrip for defence and economic development

Villupuram Member of Parliament D. Ravikumar presents a memorandum to Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Villupuram Member of Parliament D. Ravikumar has urged the Centre to expedite the handover of the airstrip in Ulundurpet to the Director General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA) for strategic defence and economic development.

In a memorandum presented to Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Mr. Ravikumar said the Ulundurpet airstrip, an asset with historical significance dating back to the Second World War, is presently under the control of the Thanjavur Air Station.

A joint proposal has been formulated between the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), the Tamil Nadu government, and the Ministry of Defence for transforming this facility into a state-of-the-art flight testing lab, a flying training school, and a drone manufacturing park, he said.

The airstrip is also ideally located equidistant from Chennai Airport to the north, and both Thanjavur Air Station and Trichy Airport to the south, making air traffic control clearances easy for flight testing, pilot training, and flying of drones, Mr. Ravikumar said.

Pointing out that the development of the Ulundurpet airstrip was a strategically significant initiative that will markedly enhance the country’s defence capabilities, Mr. Ravikumar said that its transformation will provide advanced training and manufacturing facilities for the Indian defence industry.

The project is expected to stimulate local economies by creating new employment opportunities, boosting ancillary industries, and attracting further investments, thereby contributing substantially to the region’s economic growth, he said.

“The Government of Tamil Nadu has already taken proactive steps in this regard by initiating the acquisition of the necessary additional land, with the land acquisition proposal currently in the advanced stages of sanction. However, due to certain technical complications, the Ministry of Defence was unable to transfer the land to TIDCO directly. As an alternative, it was proposed that the land be handed over to the DGAQA, which would accord necessary working permission to TIDCO to facilitate the integrated development of the airstrip and its surrounding areas,” the MP said.

Unfortunately, the proposal to hand over the airstrip from the Director General of Defence Estates to DGAQA has experienced an extended delay. While various complexities are involved, this delay may affect our national defence preparedness by postponing the establishment of key training and manufacturing facilities, he said.

The Ministry should intervene and expedite the necessary clearances and handover process to reinforce the national security infrastructure while also catalysing regional economic growth through the creation of skilled employment and ancillary industries, Mr. Ravikumar said.