Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration P. Moorthy assured people that necessary action would be taken to find a permanent solution to the Madurai Airport land acquisition issues through the court and to establish it as an international airport.
He spoke at the inauguration of a special seminar regarding the preparation of the ‘En Oor En Kanavu’ Vision 2030 strategy and project document here on Tuesday.
He stated that it was welcoming that those who belonged to Madurai district and are currently working in foreign countries were coming forward to start industries with the intention of bringing pride to their hometown.
“To fulfil the desire of the people to achieve industry-oriented growth, various steps are being taken. As the Chief Minister M.K. Stalin recently released the Master Plan for the district, currently, the spirit to start industries is prevalent among the people of Madurai,” he added.
He noted that they have inaugurated a massive cleanliness drive around the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple with public participation to upgrade the tourism works in the areas surrounding the temple which stands as the identity of the secular Madurai district.
“The work to lay a four-lane road from Vadipatti to Chittampatti is in progress. Subsequently, four-lane roads will be constructed in the Thirumangalam and Usilampatti areas,” he pointed out.
Noting that works were under way to establish the Madurai Central Prison in Melur, Mr. Moorthy, said, the currently existing prison area would be converted into a recreational space.
“In the Madurai Government Rajaji Hospital, which is a boon for the people of Southern Tamil Nadu, site selection has been completed and works are to commence for the construction of a Regional Cancer Centre building at an estimated cost of ₹40 crore,” he added.
He stated that Mr. Stalin has ordered for the removal of old underground sewage pipes and the commencement of new works in the important areas of Madurai city, including the four Masi Streets surrounding the Meenakshi Sundareswara Temple, Veli Streets, K. Pudur, Anna Nagar, Palanganatham, and Arapalayam.
This would bring another major upliftment to the areas surrounding the temple, he said.
Collector K.J. Praveen Kumar said various States were implementing all the schemes brought forth by the Tamil Nadu government by keeping them as models.
“In that way, various States are implementing the Mid-day Meal Scheme introduced by Tamil Nadu government. Among the model schemes brought by the State, the namakku naame scheme is one. The second scheme is the gram sabha. The gram sabha meeting, which is well-known to everyone living in the village, is held five times a year. The significance of the gram sabha meeting is to select the beneficiaries for the schemes implemented by the government,” he added.
Citing an example, he said if houses were to be built under ‘Kalaignar Kanavu Illam’ scheme, and if 10 people in that village have applied and orders have arrived for five people, the decision would not be taken by the government or the District Collector.
“A solution will be found only in the Gram Sabha. We placed a request to the people present in the gram sabha meetings held in all the villages within Madurai district to state the three most important demands for their village, promising that we would complete them immediately within six months,” he recalled.
Accordingly, out of approximately more than 1,200 requests that came from all the villages in Madurai district, the Chief Minister has allocated special funds for 847 works, and the works have been started immediately and were ongoing, he noted.
The objective of the ‘En Oor En Kanavu’ scheme is that by the year 2030, Madurai must be developed in the fields of medicine, highways, and agriculture.
“Your opinions are very important. It is only in accordance with these opinions will the vision project report for the dreams of ‘Maamadurai’ and ‘Pudhu Madurai of 2030 be created,” he said.
Corporation Commissioner Chitra Vijayan, Tamil orator Solomon Pappaiah, and others were present at the event.
Published – February 03, 2026 08:55 pm IST
