Tamil Nadu to get a second capital? AIADMK demands

Nearly forty years after the then Chief Minister M G Ramachandran vainly attempted to shift Tamil Nadu’s capital from Chennai to Tiruchirappalli, the party founded by him, AIADMK, is now demanding a second capital for the state.

Interestingly, the demands to make Madurai, the capital of the erstwhile Pandian Kingdom, or Tiruchirappalli, located at the centre of Tamil Nadu, from the leaders of the ruling party comes at a time when the state is gearing up for the crucial assembly elections in the first half of 2021.

The demand to make Madurai, 465 km from Chennai, as the second capital was first mooted by Revenue Minister R B Udhayakumar and seconded by Cooperatives Minister Sellur K Raju as both belong to the historic city. Soon, Tourism Minister V Natarajan pitched Tiruchirappalli as the “ideal place” for Tamil Nadu’s second capital and invoked the late MGR’s idea.

Though Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami indicated there was no such plan for a second capital with the government, the issue refuses to die down with Udhayakumar continue to pitch for the idea and the BJP also joining the chorus. Udhayakumar told DH that a second capital for Tamil Nadu is a necessity as people from Southern districts are forced to travel more than 400 km to Chennai for official work.

“Madurai is the gateway to Southern Tamil Nadu and the city has a rich history. We are only demanding that Madurai be made the second capital and it is for the Chief Minister to decide. We want the government to study the feasibility of a second capital for the state which is quite huge in size,” the Minister said.

Veteran urban administrator and retired bureaucrat M G Devasahayam said that the time for a second capital has come as the current capital city of Chennai has outgrown itself. Chennai has very limited scope for expansion as the northern part is full of industries and polluted, the western and southern parts of the city are also overcrowded.

“There is a necessity for a second capital for Tamil Nadu which is fairly a big state and people in many parts find it difficult to travel to Chennai. Apart from administrative difficulties, there is a logistical difficulty too. We need a counter-magnet for Chennai who seems to be the centre of attraction for all investments despite cities like Coimbatore and Madurai possessing good infrastructure. Time for the idea for a second capital has come,” Devasahayam told DH.

However, the principal Opposition, DMK, feels the issue is being raked up only to gain political mileage ahead of the assembly elections. DMK spokesman and MLA from Madurai (Central) constituency Dr P Thiaga Rajan questioned why the AIADMK did not talk about the issue during the government’s tenure of 9.5 years.

“The Government should be concerned about the decaying infrastructure, concentrate on the steps to improve the sewage and water systems, none of which have been focused in the last ten years. The efforts should be put on the development of the city and improving the livelihood, rather than naming it as a Capital or the best city,” he said.

The Minister said the growth in cities should be on an equal footing and announcing Madurai as the second capital would set off another round of growth in the Southern part of the state.

And this is not the first time that the state is witnessing a debate on the capital city or second capital. MGR had in 1981 announced that he would move the capital city from Chennai to Tiruchirappalli, 335 km from here, and the government even finalised land for building a new city. But the plan never took off.

Two decades later, his successor J Jayalalithaa also decided to move the secretariat to Mamallapuram on the outskirts of the city. However, this plan also remained on paper.