CM Stalin politicising rejection of metro proposals in Madurai, Coimbatore: Union Min Khattar
CHENNAI: Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal on Thursday criticised Chief Minister MK Stalin for “politicising” the union government’s application of the Metro Rail Policy while deciding to not approve the metro rail projects proposed by the state government for Coimbatore and Madurai.
In a social media post on Thursday, Lal said the policy — introduced in 2017 to ensure that expensive mass-transit systems deliver “maximum public benefit” — was being portrayed as an obstacle, even as the centre had cleared “the biggest ever” metro project for Chennai only a year earlier. The union cabinet approved Phase II of the Chennai Metro Rail project on October 3, 2024, at a cost of `63,246 crore for a 119-km network, he said.
He alleged that Tamil Nadu’s detailed project reports for Coimbatore and Madurai had inconsistencies. Coimbatore’s projections showed higher peak-hour traffic than Chennai despite a much shorter route length, which “on the face of it appears erroneous”, the minister said.
“Projected average trip lengths and speed differentials between road traffic and the metro do not support the expectation of a modal shift of traffic to a metro system,” he added.
He also said that as per the DPR sent by the state government for Coimbatore, there is inadequate right of way at seven proposed metro locations.
For Madurai, the minister cited the city’s Comprehensive Mobility Plan had clearly stipulated that a bus rapid transit system was justified at current ridership levels.
Pointing out that the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation (CMC) area (257 sq km) had a population of 15.58 lakh and the Local Planning Area (1,287 sq km) had 7.7 lakh population (excluding CMC population) as per the 2011 Census. “Ridership projections are made for modal shifts within the Local Planning Area which is five times bigger than the CMC area. This projected shift to the metro system needs justification,” he said.
He further alleged that the Tamil Nadu government has chosen “not to use the benefit of GoI PM e-bus sewa intended to provide 10,000 air conditioned e-buses in different cities”.
DMK stages stir in Coimbatore, warns BJP of poll lesson
Coimbatore: Former minister V Senthil Balaji said the people of TN will give a befitting lesson to the BJP for neglecting the state. Speaking at a demonstration organised by the DMK against the centre for rejecting permission to implement the metro project for Coimbatore and Madurai, on Thursday, he said the AIADMK has failed to raise its voice for the people of the state even as the BJP-led centre has rejected the metro project. “Centre is blocking projects for TN and AIADMK is supporting it. Under the BJP rule, four of five AIIMS have been built. But, the AIIMS hospital which was announced in Madurai 10 years ago is yet to be built,” he said.