MADURAI: The Madras High Court has issued notices to the Centre, state authorities, and Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) regarding a petition urging the state government to revise and resubmit the detailed project report (DPR) for the Madurai Metro Rail project for reevaluation.
A division bench, comprising Justice Anita Sumanth and Justice C Kumarappan, heard the public interest litigation presented by A V Kathir, a first-year law student from Madurai.
The petitioner emphasized that over the last two decades, Madurai has evolved into one of the fastest-growing urban centers in Tamil Nadu. The city is now home to the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, various central and state institutions, AIIMS, Government Rajaji Hospital, and burgeoning medical clusters that draw lakhs of patients from surrounding districts. It has become a significant tourism hub, being the gateway to iconic sites such as Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, Thirumalai Nayakar Palace, and the Rameswaram and Kodaikanal circuits.
Additionally, the IT and services sector has seen considerable growth in the area, with the establishment of multiple IT parks and tech-based industries. The increasing number of domestic and international passengers at Madurai airport, along with the development of large commercial and residential zones, has rendered the current public transportation infrastructure significantly inadequate, necessitating urgent intervention, according to the petitioner.
The petitioner further highlighted the need to implement the Metro rail project for the benefit of residents in Madurai and surrounding districts who rely on the city for education, commerce, healthcare, employment, and public services. The lack of a modern, reliable, and sustainable mass transit system results in significant mobility challenges.
Madurai currently has over 2 million registered voters, suggesting a total population of approximately 2.5-3 million, which exceeds the 2 million population threshold set in the Metro Rail Policy of 2017 for initiating MRTS projects. The petitioner noted that other cities like Nagpur, Kochi, Lucknow, Bhopal, Kanpur, and Agra were approved for metro rail projects despite having much lower populations based on the 2011 census. Thus, denying Madurai’s proposal based on outdated data would misrepresent the city’s current demographic reality.
He asserted that the project would revolutionize the region’s transportation landscape, providing quick, reliable, and eco-friendly travel options that would alleviate travel time, reduce congestion, lower road accident rates, conserve fuel, and decrease air pollution.
Consequently, the petitioner requested the court to instruct the state government to take necessary steps to amend and resubmit the DPR for the Madurai Metro Rail project, emphasizing the project’s importance for the local community.
