Overview
- The Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry returned Tamil Nadu’s DPRs on November 14, citing the Metro Rail Policy 2017 requirement that cities meet a 2‑million population threshold based on the 2011 Census.
- Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar detailed “discrepancies,” saying Coimbatore’s projected ridership exceeded Chennai’s despite shorter lines, modal‑shift assumptions were weak, and seven station sites lacked adequate right‑of‑way; Madurai’s mobility plan supports BRTS at current demand.
- Khattar noted Tamil Nadu has not joined the Centre’s PM e‑Bus Sewa scheme and pointed to last year’s ₹63,246 crore approval for Chennai Metro Phase‑2 when rejecting charges of bias.
- Chief Minister M.K. Stalin called the decision politically motivated and announced DMK‑led protests, set for Thursday in Coimbatore and Friday in Madurai.
- BJP leaders in Tamil Nadu said the state can resubmit using urban‑agglomeration data or special justification, as critics also highlighted earlier metro approvals for sub‑threshold cities such as Agra, Patna and Bhopal.