'Cities do not meet population criteria': Centre returns DPRs of Coimbatore and Madurai metros

Chennai: In a setback to the DMK dispensation’s plans to build metro rail networks in Coimbatore and Madurai, the Union government has returned the Detailed Project Reports (DPR) of the two projects, saying the cities do not meet the population criteria under the National Metro Rail Policy, 2017.

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 sent to the state government on November 14, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said both cities don’t qualify for metro network and asked the administration to find suitable modes of transport.

The communication said while Madurai’s population was 15 lakh and Coimbatore's population is 15.84 lakh, as per the 2011 Census. The National Metro Tail Policy, 2021 says to qualify for a metro rail network, the city’s population should be at least 20 lakh.

Sources in the government confirmed receiving the letter from Centre. “We are studying the communication,” a government official told DH.

Though the population in both cities is above 20 lakh in 2025, the Centre will only count the 2011 population figure as the decadal Census has not been conducted since 2020.

The Ministry noted that Metro projects are expensive and should be planned for long-term sustainability.

The return of the DPRs by the Centre is set to snowball into a political controversy as the DMK was very keen on the two projects that are likely to change the landscape of Madurai and Coimbatore.

The DMK mounted pressure on the Centre in 2024 to approve the phase-II of the Chennai Metro Rail project, which the state government was building using its own resources.

The DMK had then accused the BJP of overlooking Tamil Nadu since the state doesn’t vote for the saffron party.

With assembly elections just months away, the DMK is likely to use the development to its political advantage.