CHENNAI: Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday accused Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin of “playing politics” over the rejection of Metro Rail proposals for Coimbatore and Madurai, and stated that the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) contained “serious inconsistencies and unjustifiable projections.”
In a post on X, Khattar said the Centre had sanctioned an unprecedented ₹63, 246 crore for the Chennai Metro Phase II — the highest allocation ever made to any State for a metro project.
“Despite this, the Chief Minister is attempting to politicise the Union Government’s actions taken strictly in accordance with the 2017 Metro Rail Policy, ” he said.
According to the Minister, the DPR for the Coimbatore Metro included projections claiming that the shorter Coimbatore corridor would carry more passengers than the much longer and denser Chennai Metro line — an estimate he termed “unreasonable and unexplained.”
Khattar pointed out that while Coimbatore Corporation has a population of 15.85 lakh, only around 7.07 lakh people reside within the identified metro planning area.
“Yet the DPR claims ridership figures almost five times the city’s actual population. Such projections cannot be justified, ” he said.