The metro rail projects for the two cities were rejected by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) citing the Metro Rail Policy of 2017 and the population requirements in the policy.
“I wish to convey our disappointment and anguish over the rejections of the proposals for metro rail systems in Coimbatore and Madurai and urge you to instruct the MoHUA to reconsider the decision. Tamil Nadu being the most urbanised state in the country, with a high per capita private vehicle ownership, needs high-capacity public transport alternatives in all its large growth engine cities,” CM Stalin wrote.
He further stated that the population of the Coimbatore Local Planning Authority area had exceeded the 20 lakh population requirement back in 2011 itself and that in Madurai too, the population would touch 20 lakh now. He also pointed out that the population criteria had not been applied uniformly and that if it had been so, metro systems in Agra, Patna, and Indore would not have materialised.
Stalin also said that the MoHUA’s estimation of adequate ridership in the two cities, based on comparisons with the Chennai Metro, is erroneous and ridership patterns in these cities are different. He pointed to the Comprehensive Mobility Plans prepared for both cities by the Rail India Technical and Economic Service, which had recommended rail-based transport systems for both cities.
The Chief Minister also said that the construction of metro systems in all cities had required the acquisition of private land and that such acquisition would be properly compensated. “We are fully aware of the need to balance the social costs of acquisition with the long-term social benefits from the Metro Rail projects,” he wrote.
Stalin asked that the Union reconsider the proposal in light of these facts and said that he had advised the department of state’s Special Initiatives to submit detailed justifications to the issues raised by the MoHUA.