Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin (L) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Credit: PTI File Photos
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday termed as a “disgraceful approach” and “distortion of federal principles” the Union government returning the detailed project reports (DPRs) submitted for building metro networks in Coimbatore and Madurai citing lack of adequate population in both cities.
The grounds on which the DPRs were returned — both cities do not have a population of 20 lakh as per the National Metro Rail Policy, 2017 — were “flimsy”, Stalin said, while asserting that a government exists to serve people without any bias.
He sought to know why Madurai and Coimbatore were overlooked when the Union government had approved metro networks for tier-II cities with less than 20 lakh population in BJP-ruled States. Cities like Indore whose population is less than 20 lakh have been granted metro rail networks.
“A government exists to serve people without bias. Yet the Union #BJP treats Tamil Nadu’s democratic choice as a reason to take revenge. Pushing such a political custom, in which BJP-ruled States get Metros for smaller Tier II cities while Opposition-ruled States are deprived, is a disgraceful approach,” Stalin said in a post on X on Wednesday.
Stalin's statement came on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi in set to visit Coimbatore to inaugurate the South India Natural Farming Summit.
He suggested that Tamil Nadu was being denied metro networks because the State voted for the DMK in 2021 and overwhelmingly rejected the BJP and the AIADMK in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“They attempted to stall the #Chennai Metro, and we overcame those malicious attempts and kept the project progressing. With the same determination, we will secure the Metro Rail that Madurai and Coimbatore need for their future growth. Tamil Nadu will fight! Tamil Nadu will win,” Stalin said.
Five-year wait
The Union government did not approve the Phase-II of the Chennai Metro for about five years despite giving an in-principle approval for the project that envisages bringing about 120 km of the city under metro network, in 2019. However, the DMK government, which came to power in 2021, began constructing the network using its own funds till late 2024 when the BJP-led Union government finally gave its seal of approval.
With the Assembly elections just months away, the DMK is likely to use the development to its political advantage and accuse the BJP of “ignoring” Tamil Nadu. While Madurai is a temple town that attracts millions of tourists a year, Coimbatore is one of the critical engines that fuels Tamil Nadu’s growth.
Metro networks in the State had been a political issue in the past as well. While the AIADMK government under the late J Jayalalithaa had proposed a monorail for the city despite opposition from experts, the DMK got the project approved under the UPA-I and launched work in 2009. Jayalalithaa had publicly said she had no choice but to implement the project despite her unwillingness since viaducts have already been constructed.
DPRs sent
The State government had prepared DPRs that proposed two corridors for Coimbatore and one for Madurai and sent them to the Union government for approval since metro projects are implemented by both governments.
In a letter to the State government on November 14, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said both cities do not qualify for metro networks and asked the administration here to find suitable modes of transport.
The communication said Madurai's population was 15 lakh and Coimbatore' 15.84 lakh as per the 2011 Census. Though the population in both cities are above 20 lakh in 2025, the Centre will only count the 2011 population figure as the decadal Census has not been conducted since 2020.