Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to grant early approvals for key railway and road projects planned in the state. He also requested the Centre to release ₹5,110 crore in pending school education funding under the Samagra Shiksha scheme “without any conditions”.
The appeal was made at an event held at IIT Madras, where projects worth about ₹13,000 crore were inaugurated and foundation stones were laid. The Prime Minister and the Chief Minister jointly launched the projects, with Vijay thanking Modi for inaugurating Chennai Metro Rail Phase 2.
In his address, Vijay said the state government was working towards transparent, corruption-free administration and inclusive development, with focus areas including education, health, agriculture, fishermen’s welfare and overall economic growth. He said Tamil Nadu was pursuing plans across sectors such as agriculture, industry and information technology, aiming for a $1.5 trillion economy by 2036.
Vijay sought swift approval for Chennai Metro Phase 3 proposals, including the Airport–Kilambakkam bus terminus, Poonamallee–Sunguvarchatram and Koyambedu–Pattabiram corridors. He also asked the Centre to reconsider and approve the Coimbatore and Madurai metro proposals, and to clear the inter-state Hosur–Bommasandra metro project.
He welcomed the Union Budget 2026 announcement of two high-speed rail corridors between Bengaluru–Hyderabad–Chennai, and urged similar high-speed rail links for Chennai–Kanyakumari and Chennai–Coimbatore. He also sought approvals for several highway and flyover projects, called for the Godavari–Cauvery river-linking plan to be taken up as a national project, and requested approval for Tamil to be used as a language of proceedings in the High Court. After his speech, the Prime Minister stood up and congratulated the Chief Minister, holding his hand.
