Tamil Nadu announces free LPG cylinders, expands bus travel, shelves airport

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay announced a series of major welfare measures and a key policy shift in the state Legislative Assembly on Monday, August 24, 2026. The announcements included three free cooking gas cylinders annually for eligible households, an expansion of the free bus travel scheme for women and transgender persons, and the cancellation of the proposed Parandur airport project near Chennai.

Under the newly formulated Annapoorani Super Six scheme, the government will provide three free liquefied petroleum gas cylinders each year to female heads of households. The initiative, set to begin with the Pongal festival in January 2027, aims to benefit approximately 1.30 crore families with an annual income not exceeding Rs 2.5 lakh, along with small and marginal farmers and families of differently-abled persons. The state exchequer is estimated to bear an annual cost of about Rs 4,000 crore for this programme. The cost of the cylinders will be reimbursed directly to the beneficiaries' bank accounts via a Direct Benefit Transfer mechanism after they book and receive the cylinders through the existing distribution network.

Chief Minister Vijay stated that the...