Metro Rail tasks journey into political row

The Union authorities’s rejection of the Metro Rail projects for Coimbatore and Madurai has offered the bottom for yet one more fierce political battle between the ruling DMK-led entrance and the Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP), the ruling social gathering on the Centre.

Citing one of many norms stipulated within the 2017 Metro Rail Policy — {that a} metropolis will need to have a inhabitants of a minimum of 2 million to qualify for a mass transit system equivalent to Metro Rail — the Union Ministry of Housing and City Affairs, in its November 14, 2025 communication to the Tamil Nadu authorities, referred to 2011 Census data exhibiting Coimbatore’s inhabitants at 1.58 million and Madurai’s at 1.5 million as the premise for its choice. Returning detailed venture experiences for the 2 cities, the Ministry acknowledged that “the Metro tasks are cost-intensive and needs to be deliberate rigorously for long-term sustainability.” It prompt different cost-effective city transport techniques, together with the Bus Speedy Transit System.

The State authorities had adopted the Union Ministry’s tips whereas commissioning feasibility research for the Mass Speedy Transit System in Coimbatore, Madurai, and three different tier-II cities in Tamil Nadu. Detailed venture experiences had been finally ready by Chennai Metro Rail Restricted for Madurai and Coimbatore and despatched to the Centre, with a advice that the venture price be met underneath a 50:50 fairness sharing foundation. Whereas utterly elevated, two corridors have been proposed for almost 35 kilometre within the case of Coimbatore; the opposite metropolis is to have an elevated hall of 26.5 km and an underground hall of 5.5 km. Every venture was estimated to price round ₹11,000 crore.

Broad outrage

When the communication grew to become public on November 18, 2025, it triggered loud protests from the ruling social gathering and its allies. It was left to the BJP and its ally, Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar), to defend the transfer of the Union authorities, which was mentioned to have come after 21 months. Late night on Tuesday (November 18, 2025), the DMK’s info know-how wing, on X, complained of the Centre’s discrimination towards Tamil Nadu vis-à-vis a few cities in north India, for which the approval had been given prior to now regardless of “not fulfilling” the norm of a 2-million inhabitants.

Senior BJP chief and legislator of Coimbatore (south), Vanathi Srinivasan, rejected the cost of bias towards the State and contended that underneath the BJP-led Nationwide Democratic Alliance’s reign on the Centre, the State had “acquired ₹1.5 lakh crore in rail funds, hardly the signal of any anti-Tamil Nadu agenda.” She added that the State might resubmit the venture proposal, “utilizing city agglomeration knowledge , or give particular justification — simply as Agra Metro was authorised for tourism. Comparable precedents exist for Bhopal and Patna.” The TMC(M)’s chief and former Union Minister G.Ok. Vasan expressed hope that the tasks would take off sooner or later.

On Wednesday morning (November 19, 2025), Chief Minister M.Ok. Stalin, in a submit on X, accused the BJP-led government of using “flimsy grounds” to deny the Metro Rail projects for the “Temple Metropolis” Madurai and “South India’s Manchester” Coimbatore. The BJP’s ally within the State, the AIADMK, identified for its sturdy base in Coimbatore and different western districts of the State, selected to not be a part of the controversy straight. Nonetheless, its basic secretary Edappadi Ok. Palaniswami, in a illustration submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was coincidentally in Coimbatore on Wednesday (November 19, 2025) to attend a farmers’ meet, appealed to the Centre to expedite the implementation of the Metro Rail tasks. The AIADMK’s IT wing reposted an announcement issued by the BJP’s State unit. The nationwide social gathering had defined that the Centre had “returned” the metro proposals, asking for fundamental clarifications. The same course of was adopted for metro extension tasks in Bengaluru, along with Agra and Patna, the BJP added.

Though the DMK and BJP discover fault with one another over the current destiny of the venture proposals, they, nonetheless, sound optimistic about making the tasks a actuality. It stays to be seen how they will accomplish it, however what is for certain is that the Coimbatore and Madurai Metro Rail tasks will get featured in election manifestos of all main events when Tamil Nadu goes to the polls in April–Might.