Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: In one of the most politically significant decisions taken within days of assuming office, the Cabinet led by Chief Minister, V.D. Satheesan, on May 20 formally moved to dismantle the controversial Silver Line semi high-speed rail project, announcing the cancellation of all land acquisition notifications issued for the project across Kerala.
Addressing the media after the second Cabinet meeting, Satheesan declared that all proceedings related to land takeover for the Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod Silver Line corridor had been denotified and cancelled, marking a dramatic reversal of one of the flagship projects of the previous Left government.
“We had opposed this project from the beginning. The land marked for acquisition has now been denotified,” the Chief Minister said. The UDF had studied the project and found there was not even a detailed project report. The land acquired by the government was not denotified. This has caused problems for the people living in the project area, he said.
Satheesan announced that all criminal cases registered against Silver Line protesters would be withdrawn and that the Government would approach the judiciary to facilitate the process.
The controversial yellow survey stones placed in properties during the previous government’s survey proceedings would be removed. Calling Silver Line an environmental disaster in the making, Satheesan said his government was committed to development projects that would not adversely affect people or the ecology.
The semi-high-speed rail corridor, connecting Thiruvananthapuram to the northern district headquarters of Kasaragod, had faced stiff opposition from the people. The project was envisaged to reduce north-south travel time from 12 hours to less than four hours.
The project was promoted by Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL), a joint venture of the state government and the Rail Ministry.
Railway Board concerns
However, the State Government could not go ahead with the project for want of support from the Railways. The Railway Board had raised concerns over how the project would affect the national transporter’s expansion plans for third and fourth lines in areas where KRail would run parallel to existing tracks. Subsequently, the government had to abandon its flagship project, citing a lack of backing from the Railways.
