Union Minister and BJP leader L. Murugan taking part in sapling plantation drive as part of celebrations to mark 12 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The Centre has approved ₹600 crore for taking up expansion works in Puducherry Airport, Union Minister of State for Information L. Murugan said here on Saturday.
Briefing reporters on 12 years of Narendra Modi’s tenure as the Prime Minister of the country, the Union Minister said after the first National Democratic Alliance government assumed office in Puducherry in the 2021 Assembly elections, the Centre has taken up several crores of infrastructure projects.
Puducherry will continue to get funds for the development of the airport, grade separator project linking Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi squares, multi-organ transplant centre of Jipmer, Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and other programmes, the Union Minister said.
Minister A. Namassivayam said the Ministry of Home Affairs has approved sanction of funds to the tune of ₹600 crore for airport expansion. “The administrative process is on at the Ministry level for the sanction of funds,” he added.
Mr. Murugan said in the last five years, the Union Territory has received ₹15,000 crore as Special Central Assistance. The SEZ at Sedarapet- Karasur villages would bring in huge investment and would pave way for providing direct employment to around 10,000 people, he said.
The Home Ministry has recently sanctioned a second India Reserve Battalion for Puducherry. The sanctioning of the unit would help around 1,000 local youth in getting inducted to the force, he added.
The Minister visited the Puducherry Railway Station where works taken up at a cost of around ₹92 crore were under way as part of station modernisation and improvement of operational capabilities. He also participated in various programmes, including planting of saplings, to mark 12 years of Mr. Modi. BJP president V. P. Ramalingam and former Speaker R. Selvam were present.
Published – June 13, 2026 08:12 pm IST
