6 months ago
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The Union government’s rejection of the Metro Rail projects for Coimbatore and Madurai has provided the crushed for yet different fierce governmental conflict betwixt the ruling DMK-led beforehand and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling enactment astatine the Centre.
Citing 1 of the norms stipulated successful the 2017 Metro Rail Policy — that a metropolis indispensable person a colonisation of astatine slightest 2 cardinal to suffice for a wide transit strategy specified arsenic Metro Rail — the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, successful its November 14, 2025 connection to the Tamil Nadu government, referred to 2011 Census data showing Coimbatore’s colonisation astatine 1.58 cardinal and Madurai’s astatine 1.5 cardinal arsenic the ground for its decision. Returning elaborate task reports for the 2 cities, the Ministry stated that “the Metro projects are cost-intensive and should beryllium planned cautiously for semipermanent sustainability.” It suggested different cost-effective municipality transport systems, including the Bus Rapid Transit System.
The State authorities had followed the Union Ministry’s guidelines portion commissioning feasibility studies for the Mass Rapid Transit System successful Coimbatore, Madurai, and 3 different tier-II cities successful Tamil Nadu. Detailed task reports were yet prepared by Chennai Metro Rail Limited for Madurai and Coimbatore and sent to the Centre, with a proposal that the task outgo beryllium met nether a 50:50 equity sharing basis. While wholly elevated, 2 corridors person been projected for astir 35 kilometre successful the lawsuit of Coimbatore; the different metropolis is to person an elevated corridor of 26.5 km and an underground corridor of 5.5 km. Each task was estimated to outgo astir ₹11,000 crore.
Wide outrage
When the connection became nationalist connected November 18, 2025, it triggered large protests from the ruling enactment and its allies. It was near to the BJP and its ally, Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar), to support the determination of the Union government, which was said to person travel aft 21 months. Late evening connected Tuesday (November 18, 2025), the DMK’s accusation exertion wing, connected X, complained of the Centre’s favoritism against Tamil Nadu vis-à-vis a mates of cities successful northbound India, for which the support had been fixed successful the past contempt “not fulfilling” the norm of a 2-million population.
Senior BJP person and legislator of Coimbatore (south), Vanathi Srinivasan, rejected the complaint of bias against the State and contended that nether the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s reign astatine the Centre, the State had “received ₹1.5 lakh crore successful obstruction funds, hardly the motion of immoderate anti-Tamil Nadu agenda.” She added that the State could resubmit the task proposal, “using municipality agglomeration information , oregon springiness peculiar justification — conscionable arsenic Agra Metro was approved for tourism. Similar precedents beryllium for Bhopal and Patna.” The TMC(M)’s main and erstwhile Union Minister G.K. Vasan expressed anticipation that the projects would instrumentality disconnected successful the future.
On Wednesday greeting (November 19, 2025), Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, successful a station connected X, accused the BJP-led authorities of utilizing “flimsy grounds” to contradict the Metro Rail projects for the “Temple City” Madurai and “South India’s Manchester” Coimbatore. The BJP’s state successful the State, the AIADMK, known for its beardown basal successful Coimbatore and different occidental districts of the State, chose not to articulation the statement directly. However, its wide caput Edappadi K. Palaniswami, successful a practice submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was coincidentally successful Coimbatore connected Wednesday (November 19, 2025) to be a farmers’ meet, appealed to the Centre to expedite the implementation of the Metro Rail projects. The AIADMK’s IT helping reposted a connection issued by the BJP’s State unit. The nationalist enactment had explained that the Centre had “returned” the metro proposals, asking for basal clarifications. A akin process was followed for metro hold projects successful Bengaluru, successful summation to Agra and Patna, the BJP added.
Even though the DMK and BJP find responsibility with each different implicit the contiguous destiny of the task proposals, they, however, dependable optimistic astir making the projects a reality. It remains to beryllium seen however they are going to execute it, but what is definite is that the Coimbatore and Madurai Metro Rail projects volition get featured successful predetermination manifestos of each large parties erstwhile Tamil Nadu goes to the polls successful April–May.
