Industry associations in Coimbatore have expressed disappointment over the Union government’s decision to reject metro rail for Coimbatore.

“This is a disappointing news. It is not good for the city. When the Centre rejected the proposal last year and the Chennai Metro Rail Limited was preparing a fresh proposal for resubmission, we were given to understand that the Centre would consider the fresh proposal positively. Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay should now do the needful,” said Rajesh B. Lund, president of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore.

According to J. Sathish, director of the Kongu Global Forum, the Centre has said that metro rail projects are recommended for cities with more than one million population. It was on this basis that it sanctioned metro rail project for cities such as Agra and Kanpur. Coimbatore does not have wide roads in all locations and a robust public transport system is crucial for the city’s growth.  

If the metro rail project is approved now, it can be planned properly and implemented. “If we miss the opportunity, it will be very difficult to build the city. Land prices will go up. The State government should work with the Centre, study the reasons for the rejection, prepare a fresh detailed project report and submit to the Centre again. It should ensure that Coimbatore gets a metro in the next five years,” he said.