Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday announced a set of measures focused on women and households in the state, including three free LPG cylinders a year and an expansion of the fare-free bus travel scheme for women.
The LPG benefit will be introduced under the ‘Annapoorani Super Six’ scheme and is expected to cover around 1.3 crore families. Vijay said the programme will begin from Pongal in January.
Three free LPG cylinders for eligible families
The scheme will cover households with an annual income of up to ₹2.5 lakh, along with economically weaker sections, families of small and marginal farmers and families of differently-abled persons, according to news agency ANI.
The government is expected to spend around ₹4,000 crore annually on the LPG scheme.
Under the arrangement, the cost of the cooking gas cylinder will be reimbursed and credited directly to the bank account of the woman head of the household. The payment will be made after the cylinder is booked and delivered, based on billing information from oil marketing companies.
Free bus travel scheme expanded
Vijay also announced an expansion of the existing free bus travel facility for women.
The benefit will now extend to state-run buses, including express and deluxe services. The chief minister said there would be no income-based eligibility condition or restriction on the number of trips.
“No riders like income ceiling or number of trips for women to avail fare-free bus travel,” said Vijay in assembly.
The move is aimed at widening access to fare-free travel for women across different categories of state-run bus services.
Chennai second airport plan dropped for now
The chief minister also announced that the proposed second airport at Parandur would not be pursued in its current form, citing concerns over agricultural land and the livelihoods of farmers and residents.
Vijay said Chennai's existing Meenambakkam airport, operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), has the capacity to handle 30 million passengers annually.
He said Chennai would still require another airport because of rising passenger demand, industrial growth and increasing cargo movement. However, the government would look for an alternative location where agricultural and residential areas face minimal disruption, ANI reported.
The announcement puts the Parandur proposal on hold while the government considers a location that causes less impact on farmland and populated areas.