Hours ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin accused the union BJP government of deliberately blocking the metro rail projects for Coimbatore and Madurai, saying that the “state will fight to win.”
In a strongly worded statement on social media platform X, Stalin called it a “disgraceful approach” and an attempt at “distortion of federal principles.” The chief minister’s outburst against the union government came after the centre returned and effectively rejected the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for metro rail systems in Coimbatore and Madurai. The centre had rejected the DPRs for Coimbatore and Madurai, citing the provisions of the Metro Rail Policy 2017, which required an urban agglomeration of at least 20 lakh people to qualify for a new metro project.
“The Union BJP government has denied metro rail for ‘Temple City’ Madurai and for ‘South India’s Manchester’, Coimbatore, on flimsy grounds. 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. Tamil Nadu, the land of self-respect, will never accept such a distortion of federal principles,” Stalin tweeted.
Stating that the centre attempted to stall the Chennai Metro, Stalin said that the state 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.” He also said that “Tamil Nadu will fight! Tamil Nadu will win!”
Tamil Nadu had submitted an ambitious proposal for metro rail at Coimbatore in phases, including two major corridors, the Avinashi Road and Sathyamangalam Road, which stretch to 44 km. The cost of the project was estimated to be Rs 9,424 crore, and the early works were targeted for 2025 with an approval from the centre, which was pending.
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In Madurai, the metro project was planned for a 32km stretch from Thirumangalam to Othakadai with an estimated cost of Rs 11,336 crore. The feasibility study for the project was conducted in 2022 and 2024, and the project was planned with 27 stations along the 32 km corridor, with three of the stations underground.
While both the metro projects at Coimbatore and Madurai have been planned and pursued by the planners for over a decade, the two cities have been growing rapidly. While the industrial associations and elected representatives were of the opinion that the growing industrial region of Coimbatore should have better transport facilities, the historic town of Madurai, which is densely populated, was in need of a major capacity upgrade in terms of public transportation. |
