Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release the Union Government’s share for Phase 2 of the jointly implemented Chennai Metro Rail project. He noted that several states that initiated their metro projects after Tamil Nadu had already received their funds.

He also urged the immediate release of Samagra Shiksha funds, which are currently withheld due to the non-implementation of the National Education Policy. Tamil Nadu has long upheld a two-language policy, reflecting the will of our people.

On the Chennai Metro Rail project, the Chief Minister, in the memorandum presented to Prime Minister Modi in Delhi, said that the progress of the project slowed down due to the fiscal constraints faced by the State government. Last year, due to limited fiscal space, the State government had to instruct CMRL to reduce the pace of work and take a budget cut from ₹10,000 crore to ₹9,000 crore.

The slowdown from last year is affecting the current financial year as well, limiting the project expenditure to Rs 8,000 crore. Consequently, the commissioning dates of various stages are being delayed by almost a year, pushing the completion date from December 2027 to December 2028. This will lead to time and cost overruns.

Phase II project

For phase II of the project, CMRL needs to secure principal debt of ₹33,593 crore and subordinate debt of ₹17,434 crore. Without corresponding equity contribution, this will result in an unfavourable debt-to-equity ratio, potentially rendering CMRL unsustainable as a going concern.

If the project receives funding as recommended by the PIB, the CMRL will get an equity infusion of ₹10,815 crore. However, as a state-sector project, this equity infusion by the State government alone is not possible as it will affect the company’s ownership structure. Equal equity participation of both the governments is, therefore, absolutely necessary. Most of the metro rail projects in India are financed by the Government of India under equal equity contribution model, the memorandum said.

“I request the Prime Minister to kindly intervene in this matter and facilitate early approval of Phase II of the Chennai Metro Project under a 50:50 equity sharing basis between the Government of India and Government of Tamil Nadu, as was done for Phase-I and as recommended by the PIB,” the memorandum said.

Samagra Shiksha scheme

The Samagra Shiksha scheme is the only centrally sponsored scheme in the School education sector, benefitting 43.94 lakh students, 2.21 lakh teachers, and 32,701 staff members. The memorandum said that the non-release of funds under the scheme would diminish the role of the Government of India in shaping the future generations of one of the most progressive states in the country.

The genuine request of the State regarding  the three-language formula factored in NEP-2020 may kindly be considered. Tamil Nadu is willing to sign the Prime Minister’s Schools for Rising India, MoU with minimum modifications incorporating the constitutional protection of the State with regard to the language formula, the memorandum said.

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