THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The first hurdle for the Thiruvananthapuram Metro is the population shortage in the capital. According to the central government's metro policy, the metro will be allowed only in areas with a minimum population of 20 lakh. However, according to the 2011 census, the population of Thiruvananthapuram is 16.79 lakh. The city and its surroundings have only 7.88 lakh population. The new population estimated in the project document prepared for the metro is 13.5 lakh. The population of only the 371.94 square kilometre area, including the metro route, has been included in the project document.

The Centre last day rejected the DPR for the Coimbatore and Madurai metro projects after the cities fell short of the mandated 20 lakh population mark. According to the 2011 census, the

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