The Tamil Nadu BJP has accused Chief Minister MK Stalin and the DMK government of misleading the public over the Centre’s decision to return the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for the Coimbatore and Madurai Metro projects. The controversy escalated after former state BJP chief K Annamalai released what he said was the full Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) letter dated November 14, 2025 — alleging that the DMK had purposely circulated only selective excerpts to portray the Union government as the villain.
Annamalai claimed the complete letter shows that the Tamil Nadu government knowingly submitted technically flawed DPRs so that the Centre would reject them, allowing the DMK to later accuse the BJP-led Union government of blocking metro development in the state. He described this as a “deliberate attempt” and urged the government to resubmit corrected DPRs. The BJP’s state social media handle also accused Chief Minister Stalin of “misleading” people for political gain.
The MoHUA letter highlights several deficiencies in both DPRs. For Coimbatore, the ministry pointed out that multiple road stretches had inadequate width — in some cases, less than 15 metres — making elevated corridor construction unfeasible without large-scale demolition of private properties. It also questioned the DPR’s assumptions about traffic behaviour, noting that current average road speeds in Coimbatore are already comparable to metro speeds and that trip lengths are short, reducing the real benefits of a metro system. The Centre additionally flagged the projected ridership of 5.9 lakh passengers per day as unrealistic when measured against Chennai Metro’s numbers, and called the proposed three-year completion timeline “not practical.”
For Madurai, the ministry underscored that the city’s population, around 15 lakh according to the 2011 Census, does not meet the 20-lakh requirement mandated under the Metro Rail Policy 2017. With low ridership potential and high capital expenditure, MoHUA recommended that a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) or an upgraded city bus network would be more appropriate and sustainable. The ministry concluded that Madurai does not presently qualify for a metro system under national policy.
The BJP accused the DMK of deliberately using outdated population data, acknowledging in its own DPR that a metro would not significantly reduce travel times, planning extensive property demolition, and filing proposals that were “weak, rushed, and designed for political drama.”
Annamalai said the DMK must “stop taking a leaf from their dusty playbook” and accept responsibility for the errors instead of blaming the Union government. The Tamil Nadu government has yet to respond to the allegations or the ministry’s detailed technical critique.
Meanwhile, the AIADMK — the BJP’s NDA ally in Tamil Nadu — has separately requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure the speedy implementation of the Coimbatore and Madurai Metro projects, both of which were announced earlier as part of central development plans for the state.
