Metro rejection stirs political storm

CRITERIA FAILURE ALLEGED | Central Ministry says Madurai, Coimbatore cities fail crucial population threshold

- HD Bureau

The proposal to build metro systems in Madurai and Coimbatore has been declined by the central government, triggering a sharp response from Chief Minister M. K. Stalin and other leaders.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs returned the detailed project reports for both cities, citing failure to meet the population threshold of two million as stipulated under the Metro Rail Policy 2017.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs cited the threshold requirement of an urban agglomeration population of 20 lakh under the Metro Rail Policy of 2017 as the grounds for refusal. Coimbatore’s municipal corporation recorded about 15.84 lakh residents in the 201. census and Madurai’s around 10.20 lakh, both falling short of the criterion.

Stalin accused the Union government of bias, saying that the denial appeared politically motivated