In 2014, Madurai Corporation passed a resolution to seek land from the government to shift Arapalayam bus stand to the outskirts of Madurai. The resolution said that the Corporation would seek 19.79 acres of land from the State government near Vilangudi to construct a new bus terminal.
The idea was to shift the terminal to a spacious area outside the city so that the mofussil buses will not add to the traffic congestion in Madurai. However, the proposal remains in cold storage. A Corporation official said though a resolution was passed and land was identified, it did not progress further due to objections to the proposal.
“In 2016, the tenure of the local body ended and there was no attention given to the proposal. Only when another Corporation Council gets elected, the idea can be discussed further,” he said.
S. Sampath, State joint secretary, TNSTC Staff Federation, said that construction of another terminal outside the city will cause inconvenience to the passengers. “Instead, the focus should be on moving towards one integrated bus terminal for all mofussil buses,” he said.