Soft clays are considered as problematic soils due to their low strength and high compressibility characteristics. As the expansion of urban infrastructure and transportation infrastructure become crucial for overall development of the society, many a times considering an alternative site becomes very difficult. Usage of stone columns is a widely adopted ground improvement technique to improve the bearing capacity and drainage properties of the soft soils. Stone columns or granular piles are cylindrical columns of granular materials like stones or aggregates which are installed into the ground to a desired depth. However, stone columns are not effective in eliminating the post construction settlement. This makes it an undesirable ground improvement technique for settlement sensitive structures. This study proposes a practical method to stiffen the stone column to minimise its settlement. It is intended to develop a composite stone column by replacing the top portion of the stone column with porous concrete to reduce the post construction settlements. The use of porous concrete permits consolidation due to retention of drainage properties. It is proposed to conduct unit cell tests on ordinary stone column and composite stone column to understand their behaviour under static loading. To understand the failure mechanism of stone column, semi cylindrical unit cell tests will also be conducted. Furthermore, to understand the suitability of composite stone columns for transportation infrastructure, it has to be studied under cyclic loading. This study will also involves finite element analysis of the proposed stone column in ABAQUS/CAE. Further, a parametric study will also be conducted to develop guidelines for the design of composite stone columns.