CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin has expressed strong disappointment over the Union government's refusal to approve Metro Rail projects for Coimbatore and Madurai, stating that he is willing to personally meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to present detailed clarifications.
In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, CM Stalin said the reasons cited by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for returning the concept notes of the two metro projects were "irrelevant and unjustified".
He argued that the Centre's decision reflected a "discriminatory" attitude towards Tamil Nadu's development needs.
CM Stalin pointed out that, as per the 2017 Metro Rail Policy criteria, the Coimbatore Local Planning Area had already crossed the 20-lakh population benchmark in the 2011 Census itself.