The Union Government’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) on Tuesday, November 18, rejected Tamil Nadu government’s proposal to build Metro Rail projects in Madurai and Coimbatore, citing the Metro Rail Policy of 2017.
Under the Metro Rail Policy, only cities with a population of 20 lakh (2 million) or more, based on the 2011 census, are considered eligible for mass metro transit. According to the 2011 census, Coimbatore had about 15.84 lakh people, while Madurai had around 15 lakh, MoHUA said in its letter, rejecting the proposal.
While the Union government has cited population as the criteria for denying metros to Madurai and Coimbatore, it must be noted that several other cities in India have Metro rail projects sanctioned without having the requisite population of 2 million.
For example, Agra which has a population of 15 lakh according to the 2011 census was sanctioned a Metro project in 2019. Similarly, the population of Bhopal is 19.17 lakh.
The TN government too has raised this point with the Union government, according to sources.
The Government of Tamil Nadu submitted Detailed Project Report for Coimbatore and Madurai Metro Rail Projects earlier in February, 2024. Subsequently, the state submitted the Comprehensive Mobility Plan and Alternative Analysis Report in December 2024.
In March 2025, the government told the Parliament that these projects were under consideration. “The metro Rail Projects being cost intensive undergoes extensive appraisal process as per laid down procedure and intensive scrutiny at different level in Central Government. Financial assistance for such projects in cities or urban agglomerates is considered by the Central Government, based on feasibility of the proposal and availability of resources.”