‘Disgraceful approach’: Stalin hits out at Centre’s ‘revenge politics’ after Metro plans for Coimbatore, Madurai blocked

“A government exists to serve people without bias. Yet the Union BJP (government) 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,” he wrote.

Stalin said the Centre had “attempted to stall the Chennai Metro” in the past, adding: “We 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.”

“Tamil Nadu will fight! Tamil Nadu will win!” he said.

Stalin’s outburst comes after the Union government, earlier this month, returned and effectively rejected the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for Metro Rail systems in both Coimbatore and Madurai. The rejection cites provisions of the Metro Rail Policy, 2017, which requires an urban agglomeration of at least 20 lakh (2 million) people to qualify for a new Metro project.

According to the last Census in 2011, Coimbatore’s population stood at 15.84 lakh, while Madurai’s was below 15 lakh, both falling short of the mandated criterion. The state government, however, argues that the figures are outdated and do not reflect the rapid growth of the past decade.

Metro ridership projections questioned

For Coimbatore, the Tamil Nadu government had submitted an ambitious proposal in phases, including two major corridors—Avinashi Road and Sathyamangalam Road—stretching 44 km at an estimated cost of Rs 9,424 crore. Early works were targeted for 2025, pending central approval.

For Madurai, planners conceived a 32 km corridor from Thirumangalam to Othakadai, with 27 stations, three of them underground. The project’s estimated cost is Rs 11,366 crore, with feasibility studies conducted between 2022 and 2024.

Both projects have been pursued aggressively for over a decade, with city planners, industrial associations, and elected representatives arguing that the rapidly growing industrial region of Coimbatore and the historic, densely populated Madurai require major capacity upgrades in public transportation.

Officials in New Delhi have also questioned the ridership projections in the Tamil Nadu DPRs. The Madurai plan and the Coimbatore plan projected daily ridership levels that the Centre considered “unrealistic,” noting that Coimbatore’s estimated ridership of 5.9 lakh exceeded even the actual ridership of the Chennai Metro in 2025.

The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry recommended alternatives such as expanded bus systems and Bus Rapid Transit System corridors, saying these were more aligned with the cities’ sizes.

The Tamil Nadu government and several urban planning experts have pushed back, pointing out that cities like Agra, Patna, and Bhopal received Metro clearance at similar population levels. The state sees this as evidence of what Stalin called “revenge politics”.

The state government has argued that the Centre’s position ignored the economic importance of Coimbatore and Madurai, both of which have seen surging growth in manufacturing, textiles, education, and tourism. The state is also planning to revise and resubmit the DPRs with updated demographic data once the delayed Census process resumes. International lenders, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, have indicated interest in supporting the Coimbatore project.