The Tamil Nadu government has been continuously urging the Union government to approve the Coimbatore and Madurai Metro Rail projects, Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu said on Tuesday.

In his Interim Budget speech, he said that when the State requested the Centre’s approval of the detailed project reports (DPRs) for the two projects, the Union government returned the proposals, stating that they were not approved since the populations of Coimbatore and  Madurai were less than 20 lakh. 

The Minister said the State government had given in-principle approval for three extension projects — Chennai airport to Kilambakkam,  Koyambedu to Pattabiram, and Poonamallee to Sunguvarchathiram — and recommended them to the Union government for approval and financial assistance. The administrative sanction for the preliminary work was also given, he added.

The work on developing a bus terminal with an integrated multi-modal transport hub and an office complex on the site of the Broadway bus stand was under way at an estimated cost of ₹823 crore. He said the Chennai Metro Rail Phase II project was progressing well.