TN govt submitted 2011 census in DPR for Metrorail projects: Palaniswami

Salem (Tamil Nadu), Nov 21 (PTI) AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday said the Centre rejected the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Metrorail projects for Coimbatore and Madurai because the Tamil Nadu government submitted the 2011 census.

To operate Metrorail, the population should be 20 lakh. The DMK government deliberately kept the DPR in the backburner for more than three years and submitted to the Centre in 2024 with 2011 census of the two cities, he said.

The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry recently reportedly returned Tamil Nadu’s DPR for the two Tier-II cities, citing the Metro Rail Policy, 2017, which restricts central support to urban agglomerations with a population of at least 20 lakh as per the 2011 Census, according to reports.

Sharing insights about the project, Palaniswami, talking to reporters, said the DPR was originally prepared when AIADMK was in rule.

"However, there was a change in government in 2021. Then, the DMK deliberately kept the project in the backburner for more than 3 years. Even while submitting the DPR in 2024, they had taken the 2011 census of Coimbatore which does not meet the requirement of more than 20 lakh population for Metrorail projects," he said.

The 2011 census had 15.84 lakh as the population for Coimbatore and 15 lakh for Madurai, he said.

Clarifying that the responsibility for submitting a proper DPR to Metrorail projects rests with the state government, Palaniswami urged the government to submit a DPR as per the requirement of the Centre with the details of current census of Coimbatore and Madurai.

He also asserted that soon after AIADMK assumes office after the 2026 Assembly elections, his government would take all the necessary steps for the completion of the projects in Coimbatore and Madurai.

On the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise currently underway in Tamil Nadu, Palaniswami said it would give an opportunity to conduct free and fair elections in a transparent manner and that is the reason his party was supporting it.

"Nearly, after a gap of 21 years, this SIR campaign is being conducted in Tamil Nadu. Before that, it was conducted for more than eight times in Tamil Nadu. Since it was not conducted for 21 years, the current voters list has details of people who have died or those who have migrated to new addresses," he said.

"Even today, those details of people who have shifted to new addresses remain in the voters list leading to irregularities. Since SIR was not conducted, this problem has emerged," he said.

Giving an example, he said, in Tambaram Assembly constituency alone there were 360 votes in one address and an additional 150 votes in another address. "Totally 510 fake voter details are present in two addresses. These things can be removed through SIR," he said.

"In order to conduct a transparent, honest election, this SIR is necessary. It is because of this reason, the AIADMK is supporting it," he said.

Referring to the protests conducted by his party against the DMK government over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise, Palaniswami said the ruling party members are misusing their power to pressurise District Collectors and Corporation Commissioners to benefit them.

"It is because of the ruling party misusing the power, this exercise was not carried out properly. Our party staged protest in Chennai and Kancheepuram against the DMK government," he said. PTI VIJ VIJ KH