Tamil Nadu Chief Minister S. Joseph Vijay on Monday (24 August 2026) announced that the TVK government would abandon the proposed greenfield airport project at Parandur and identify an alternative site, while announcing a series of welfare measures, including expansion of free bus travel for women and three free LPG cylinders a year under the “Annapoorani Super Six” scheme.
The Parandur airport decision comes after years of land identification, technical studies and preparatory work for a second airport for Chennai. The government said it would identify a new location involving fewer agricultural lands, waterbodies and residential areas based on technical studies.
According to the CM, the government had selected a few alternative sites suitable for establishing a new airport without affecting agricultural lands and residential areas on a large scale. He said detailed studies would be undertaken before finalising the new location.
பரந்தூரில் புதிய விமான நிலையம் அமைக்கும் நடவடிக்கைகள் அரசால் கைவிடப்படும் என்று தமிழ்நாடு சட்டமன்றப் பேரவை விதி எண் 110 இன் கீழ், மாண்புமிகு தமிழ்நாடு முதலமைச்சர் திரு.ச.ஜோசப் விஜய் அவர்கள் வெளியிட்ட அறிவிப்பு#CMJosephVijay pic.twitter.com/EVJCWHyWut
— CMOTamilNadu (@CMOTamilnadu) August 24, 2026
Vijay justified the decision by recalling his earlier opposition to the Parandur project and his support for farmers protesting against it in Parandur and 12 surrounding villages.
“I firmly stood with them against the airport proposed to be set up at Parandur and the surrounding 12 villages. I had expressed my support to the farmers who have been protesting against this project. Farmers are the backbone of the nation, and these people were protesting to protect their agricultural lands,” he said.
He said the alternative site would be selected to minimise damage to agricultural land and avoid affecting people’s livelihoods.
The Chief Minister, however, said the need for an additional airport for Chennai remained and announced expansion of the existing Meenambakkam airport as an interim measure. A new Terminal-5, with a capacity to handle an additional 20 million passengers annually, will be established in coordination with the Airports Authority of India.
The government release said Terminal-3 at Meenambakkam, after completion of the ongoing works, would have a capacity to handle 35 million passengers annually. With Terminal-5 becoming operational, the airport’s total annual handling capacity would rise to 55 million passengers.
The decision to drop Parandur drew criticism from the Opposition. DMK members staged a walkout from the Assembly in protest against the government’s decision.
Former DMK minister Thangam Thennarasu said an airport was essential for Tamil Nadu’s economic growth and pointed out that Chennai airport had fallen from third to fifth position in passenger traffic. He said Parandur had been selected after considering the industrial concentration around Sriperumbudur.
Chennai, Tamil Nadu: Former Minister and DMK leader Thangam Thennarasu says, "Airport is an important one and is essential for the economic growth of Tamil Nadu. Chennai Airport was a great airport. Chennai Airport, which was in 3rd place with 2.30 lakh passengers, has now gone… https://t.co/JJpG4B3nYE pic.twitter.com/QXbwHhjpi8
— ANI (@ANI) August 24, 2026
The former minister also said several locations had been studied before Parandur was selected, taking into account Chennai’s technical feasibility and geographical conditions, and that Central Government approval had been obtained. He questioned the fate of land already acquired for the project.
During the previous DMK government, around 1,700 acres of private land had reportedly been acquired from 12 villages in Sriperumbudur and Kancheepuram taluks for the Parandur project, excluding Ekanapuram, where residents have been protesting against the airport.
Tamil Nadu BJP chief spokesperson Narayanan Thirupapthi described the decision as “reckless and short-sighted”, arguing that it would affect Tamil Nadu’s economy and future growth.
He said years of work, public money and institutional effort had already gone into the project and warned that finding another site of comparable size — nearly 5,000-5,700 acres — meeting technical, environmental and connectivity requirements could take several more years.
The announcement by @CMOTamilnadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay that the @TVKPartyHQ government is abandoning the proposed Parandur greenfield airport project is a reckless and short-sighted decision that will inflict lasting damage on Tamil Nadu’s economy and future growth.…
— Narayanan Thirupathy (@narayanantbjp) August 24, 2026
Another BJP functionary said connectivity was crucial for the State’s progress and warned that opposition to airports and expressways would affect the youth.
The regressive mindset of the @TVKVijayHQ govt will affect Tamilnadu and its growth.
Connectivity is a key factor in progress of a state.
Aligning with the communists and saying no to airports and expressways will affect the youth of the state very badly.
Time that his voters… pic.twitter.com/DUKSe1ZdKD— Vinoj P Selvam (@VinojBJP) August 24, 2026
BJP Tamil Nadu youth wing functionary Surya questioned whether DMK “benamis” had accumulated land around Parandur anticipating the airport project and alleged that the delay had enabled such accumulation at the expense of Tamil Nadu’s interests.
Should we also give credit to #DMK benamis for acquiring acres and acres of land around Parandur, anticipating the airport project?
I’ll say it again: the delay wasn’t accidental. It allowed land to be accumulated by DMK benamies around Parandur at the expense of Tamil Nadu’s… https://t.co/HlbQqqbVTH
— Dr.SG Suryah (@SuryahSG) August 24, 2026
Social media activist Sumanth Raman also criticised the decision, saying the process of finalising an airport location could take considerable time and warning that the move could push Chennai’s second airport back by another decade.
This is a real disaster for Tamil Nadu. With this one move the CM has shown that he lacks the pragmatism needed to make Governance a success. Does he have an idea how long the process takes to finalize a location for an airport? Chennai is already a backwater in India. This will… https://t.co/rmefI5rBRW
— Sumanth Raman (@sumanthraman) August 24, 2026
‘Vettri Payanam’ expanded
Alongside the airport decision, the Chief Minister announced the expansion of the women’s free bus travel scheme under the new “Vettri Payanam” scheme.
According to the announcement, from October 2, women will be allowed free travel in Express, LSS and Deluxe government buses operating within corporations and urban areas, in addition to ordinary buses. For inter-district travel, free travel will also be permitted in ordinary-fare Mofussil and hilly-area buses.
The scheme will have no income ceiling or restriction on the number of journeys. It will subsequently be expanded to other services. Transgender persons will also be eligible for free travel under the scheme.
The implementation of the scheme is expected to entail an approximate annual expenditure of ₹6,000 crore.
Three free LPG cylinders under ‘Annapoorani Super Six’
The Chief Minister also announced that, in the first phase of the “Annapoorani Super Six” scheme, eligible households would receive three free LPG cylinders every year.
The scheme is expected to cover around 1.34 crore families, including households with annual incomes of up to Rs 2.5 lakh, small and marginal farmers and other families below the poverty line. The annual expenditure is expected to exceed Rs 4,000 crore, with the cost of the three cylinders to be directly credited to the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries.
The announcements come amid criticism over the prioritisation of welfare schemes and election promises over major infrastructure projects.
A social-media post described the trend as one in which poll promises in the form of freebies increasingly consume funds that could otherwise support developmental projects, citing the longstanding political practice of welfare promises in Tamil Nadu.
No Airport at Parandur, Reiterates #TVK Government
Chief Minister @TVKVijayHQ has reiterated on the floor of the Assembly that the #Parandur airport proposal will be scrapped, as promised earlier.
CM Vijay said a second airport for Tamilnadu is necessary, but it will be built… https://t.co/0dZsV6Cx2J
— Sanjeevee sadagopan (@sanjusadagopan) August 24, 2026
The criticism comes against the backdrop of the Parandur project, for which land had been identified and preparatory work undertaken. Critics of the government’s decision argue that abandoning the project could delay Chennai’s second airport and affect industrial, infrastructure and employment growth, while the government maintains that an alternative site can be identified with less impact on agricultural land, waterbodies, homes and livelihoods.
The TVK government’s announcements thus combine the dropping of the proposed Parandur greenfield airport project with an expansion of welfare measures, while retaining the stated objective of establishing a second airport for Chennai at an alternative location.
It has been noted that the free bus travel scheme has become one of the flagship freebies offered by governments across South India, including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala.
