Munmun Kaur
Published On: February 05, 2022 at 11:35 IST
The highly opposed K-Rail project has yet again received red light when the Railway Board on February 04, told Kerala High Court that it is ‘advisable’ that proceedings of land acquisition for the proposed high speed line be stopped at this stage.
An Affidavit was submitted in the Kerala High Court by the Railway Board in response to an Appeal by the State challenging a Single Judge Bench directive on January 20, to Stay survey and land acquisition proceedings for the CPM led Government’s ambitious project.
In the Affidavit, the Board also raised concerns over how the project would affect the national transporter’s expansion plans for third and fourth lines in areas where K-Rail would run parallel to the existing tracks.
One of the sources said that the statement meant “The project is as good as dead in its present shape”.
On February 04, Konkan Railway and Delhi Metro pioneer E Sreedharan met with the Rail Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and expressed reservations over the project. After the meeting, a tweet by Vaishnaw read “Sreedharan explained serious technical issues in the SilverLine project. Without FLS (Final Location Survey), land plan, and sanction, land acquisition cannot be done.”
As per the sources, former Railways official Alok Kumar Verma, although welcomed the national transporter’s stand but questioned why they gave in-principle approval to the feasibility study in 2019 when it had such glaring loopholes.
Although, the Railway Board’s statement on February 04, had referred to the in-principle approval and said that it only meant approval to go ahead with the preparation of DPR (Detailed Project Report), etc. on the basis of which a Decision is taken on whether to proceed. The Railway Board had also informed the Court that the DPR was not yet accepted by the Ministry and hence was not sent to NITI Aayog for appraisal.
The proposed Rs 63,943-crore K-Rail, officially titled SilverLine is a joint venture of the State Government and the Rail Ministry. Since its very inception, it has been a controversial project, highly opposed by Congress, civil society outfits, and even some sections within the ruling alliance.
Also read: Analysis of Land Acquisition in India