The western districts of Tamil Nadu, from Coimbatore to Krishnagiri, are expected to benefit from the State Budget 2026-27 announcements on textiles, electricity, and tourism.

Presenting the maiden Budget of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led government, the State’s Finance Minister N. Marie Wilson said infrastructure facilities in Tiruppur, a garment-exporting hub, will be upgraded in multiple phases to promote environmentally sustainable textile production. A Tiruppur Textiles Technology Centre (TTTC) will be established with a financial outlay of ₹10 crore for this purpose.

Regarding the energy sector, the Finance Minister said the Coimbatore-Ariyalur 765 kV Transmission Line Project will be implemented through the public-private partnership mode at a cost of ₹4,000 crore. The Phase-II Green Energy Corridor Project, valued at ₹1,187 crore and crucial for evacuating renewable energy from the State’s southern districts, will be expedited alongside the Virudhunagar-Coimbatore 765 kV Transmission Project, valued at ₹1,640 crore, the Minister added.

Further, the State government is pursuing a proposal for a Metro rail line from Hosur in Krishnagiri district to Bommasandra in Karnataka with both the Karnataka government and the Union government.

Addressing the long-pending demand of farmers, he said the government will pursue the implementation of the Anaimalaiyar and Nallar dam projects. Further, the Cauvery river, from Hogenakkal to Srirangam, will be included in a ₹53-crore proposal to promote river tourism across Tamil Nadu.

Announcements for western districts

Tourism promotion

On the tourism front, the State government will launch the Tamil Nadu Eco-Tourism Mission to develop and expand nature-based tourism circuits and destinations, including trekking routes, wildlife safaris, birding and boating trails, eco-friendly stays, and interpretation and visitor centres. The Mission will be implemented across the State’s diverse landscapes, including forests and wildlife areas, through active community participation. This is expected to benefit the western districts.

Mr. Wilson promised a comprehensive human-wildlife conflict mitigation scheme incorporating scientific measures such as hanging solar fences and steel wire rope fencing, community-based forest protection, the appointment of forest protection staff, and GPS-enabled vehicles for conflict management, night patrolling, security, and monitoring across 100 conflict-prone villages in Coimbatore, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Erode, Krishnagiri, the Nilgiris, Salem, Theni, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, and Tiruppur districts, with an allocation of ₹20 crore for this fiscal.

For the textile sector, the government is looking at a design institute that will be set up with the participation of industry and academia at a cost of ₹60 crore. Technical textiles, an emerging sector, is yet to pick up in the State. The Technical Textiles Transformation Scheme for Entrepreneurs will be implemented in collaboration with international educational and research institutions, with financial assistance from the Tamil Nadu Technical Textiles Mission. This will provide MSMEs and textile manufacturers with international exposure, technical training, technology transfer, market intelligence, innovation support, and business mentorship.

Further, Salem is among the five districts where the Tamil Nadu government will establish an institution for persons with intellectual disabilities under the name ‘Nambikkai Illam’, with a total outlay of ₹4 crore for all five districts. These institutions will provide special education, early intervention services, rehabilitation, and vocational training to children aged three years and above. In the initial stage, each institution will function as a day school with 50 students and will later be upgraded to include residential facilities.

Published - August 05, 2026 04:05 pm IST