Overview
- The Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry returned Tamil Nadu’s DPRs for the two metro systems under the 2017 policy, asking for clarifications before considering approval.
- Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar cited flaws including ‘erroneous’ Coimbatore ridership projections, inadequate right‑of‑way at seven stations, use of wider LPA data needing justification, and a Madurai plan whose CMP points to BRT as more viable.
- Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking reconsideration, directed the Department of Special Initiatives to file detailed justifications, and said he is ready to meet in New Delhi.
- DMK‑led INDIA bloc parties staged protests in Madurai and Coimbatore, alleging inconsistent application of the population threshold tied to the 2011 Census, a charge the Centre rejects as politicisation.
- AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami blamed the state for submitting 2011 census figures and delaying the project, while BJP’s Tamil Nadu chief said a revised, clarified proposal could still be approved.