TN Assembly passes 11 bills amid opposition objections to some key amendments

The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Tuesday passed 11 laws, including the controversial Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Act, 2026 and the Tamil Nadu Private Universities (Amendment) Act, 2026.

The Tamil Nadu Private Universities Act, 2019 mandates a minimum of 100 acres of contiguous land for setting up a private university in the state. The Act also mandates the sponsoring body to set up a permanent endowment fund of at least ₹50 crore. Higher Education Minister P. Viswanathan on Tuesday tabled a bill to amend the aforementioned law.

The amendment bill sought to reduce the minimum land requirements for setting up a private university to 12 acres in the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) area, 18 acres in other city corporations and city councils, and 25 acres in other areas. It also proposed to reduce the permanent endowment fund to ₹25 crore.

The Communist Party of India (CPI), which extended external support to the TVK-led government, and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) opposed the amendment bill, calling it an attempt to commercialize education. Mr. Viswanathan argued that the reason behind the amendment was to facilitate the establishment of world-class private universities in Tamil Nadu. Later, the bill was approved.

Similarly, when the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill, 2026 was passed, the AIADMK, CPI and PMK opposed the amendments. They objected to the appointment of a full-time chairman of the urban development authorities to replace the concerned Collector. They also demanded that the bill be referred to a select committee. However, the bill was passed.

The DMK MLAs were not in the House when the bills were passed as they had been evicted earlier in the day. When these bills were taken up for consideration, the CPI(M) MLAs were not present in the House.

The House also passed the second amendment to the Tamil Nadu Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act, 2026, which sought to extend the validity period of mandi licenses issued to traders from three years to five years and mandate online-only applications for licences. The House also passed the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (Additional Functions) Amendment Bill, 2026, which seeks to recruit candidates for appointment to posts under urban local bodies.

The House also passed the Tamil Nadu Appropriation Act, 2026, the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (Amendment) Act, 2026, the Tamil Nadu Panchayat (Second Amendment) Act, 2026, the Tamil Nadu Ease of Doing Business (Amendment) Act, 2026, the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Amendment02, Tamil Nadu Amendment 2Secon Value Added Nadu Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2026 and Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Act, 2026.

Published – 8 Sep 2026 18:59 IST