6 months ago
1
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin connected Saturday (November 22, 2025) wrote a elaborate missive to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing disappointment and anguish implicit the rejection of the proposals for Metro Rail systems successful Coimbatore and Madurai and urged him to instruct the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to reconsider the decision.
“Tamil Nadu, being the astir urbanised State successful the state with a precocious per capita backstage conveyance ownership, needs high-capacity nationalist transport alternatives successful each its ample maturation motor cities. Towards this, we had prepared the DPRs for Coimbatore and Madurai Metro Rails and forwarded the aforesaid to MoHUA for approval,” Mr. Stalin said successful his letter.
“Considering the precocious precedence accorded to these 2 projects, we were continuously pursuing up with the applicable Ministry. In this backdrop, the rejection of this petition has taken america by implicit surprise. It has created heavy resentment amongst the radical of the 2 cities that their deserving needs person been rejected, arsenic compared to akin projects sanctioned successful different States,” Mr. Stalin said.
‘Two cardinal colonisation criteria selectively applied’
According to him, the purported reasons quoted successful the connection from MoHUA are not due and the criterion of 2 cardinal population, arsenic successful the Metro Rail Policy 2017, has been quoted arsenic 1 of the main reasons for rejection. “I privation to item that the colonisation of Coimbatore LPA country had exceeded 2 cardinal mode backmost successful 2011 itself and successful the lawsuit of Madurai too, the expected colonisation is apt to transcend it now. It is pertinent to constituent retired astatine this juncture that if this 2 cardinal criteria had been applied uniformly, galore Metros successful Tier-II cities similar Agra, Indore and Patna whitethorn not person materialised,” the Chief Minister said.
“The selective exertion of this criterion to our connection has created an content of favoritism against our cities and the Union authorities needs to dispel it by treating our cities connected par with the cities mentioned above. In addition, the adequacy of ridership for the task successful Coimbatore metropolis has been arrived astatine by comparing with the ridership of Chennai. This is not due since ridership depends upon aggregate factors. Both these cities person commuting patterns antithetic from Chennai,” Mr. Stalin said.
The Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) for Coimbatore prepared by RITES aft elaborate postulation studies had intelligibly projected the request for MRTS successful the projected sectors. For Madurai also, the CMP of 2011 had projected BRT but since astir of the way magnitude would person to beryllium elevated, it had intelligibly mentioned that the rail-based strategy tin besides beryllium considered. Further, the DPR studies person made consequent autarkic assessments of postulation projections, which justified the request for Metro Rail corridors, the Chief Minister pointed out.
He said these factors person not been adequately taken into consideration. With notation to the availability of close of way, it is good known that Metro Rail projects person necessitated acquisition of backstage lands successful astir cities successful India.
“We are afloat conscious of the request for balancing societal costs owed to onshore acquisition with the semipermanent socio-economic benefits from Metro Rail projects. We person been offering compensation which meets the expectations of the onshore owners successful our existent task and we volition guarantee that the availability of onshore volition not beryllium a hindrance for the projected projects astatine Coimbatore and Madurai cities,” helium said.
“I person advised the Department of Special Initiatives to taxable elaborate justifications connected the issues raised by MoHUA. I impulse you to instruct MoHUA to reappraisal the determination of returning the proposals successful airy of the supra points. If necessary, I americium acceptable to conscionable you astatine New Delhi with my squad to explicate the issues successful detail. Since these 2 projects impact the aspirations of the concern and taste hubs of Tamil Nadu, I look guardant to your idiosyncratic involution successful this issue,” helium said.
