The Tamil Nadu government has announced that the proposal to build a second airport at Parandur will be dropped after sustained local opposition. Parandur, about 60 km west of Chennai, had been chosen by the previous administration as the greenfield site but residents said the project would displace many people and damage agricultural land. The cancellation follows prolonged village agitation and political mobilisation around the issue.

Chief minister C Joseph Vijay said a new airport will be proposed at a location that attracts no local opposition and that the alternative site will be chosen only after technical feasibility studies by expert teams. He said the decision was taken to avoid relocating large numbers of people and to protect cultivable land, and he criticised the previous government for selecting a densely populated area. The administration will carry out surveys and consultations before finalising the replacement site.

The plan had been announced on 2 August 2022 by the former chief minister at an estimated cost of Rs 200 billion (bn) and was intended to have an annual handling capacity of 100 million (mn) passengers. Protests by Parandur residents and nearby villagers began soon after and lasted for more than a year, with opponents warning of livelihood losses and environmental harm. In January 2025 Mr Vijay, then president of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, joined the agitation and his party backed the protesters.

In the same session the chief minister announced the Annapooranai Super Six scheme under which free liquefied petroleum gas cylinders will be provided to every household from January 14, with the state crediting the cost of three cylinders into beneficiaries' bank accounts. The scheme carries an annual allocation of Rs 40 billion (bn) and is expected to benefit 13 million (mn) families. Eligible households were said to include those with annual incomes below Rs 0.25 million (mn), small and marginal farmers, families with differently abled members and other vulnerable sections.