Plea claims SilverLine project moving forward without proper sanction: Kerala HC seeks state govt stand

The plea, filed through advocate K Mohanakannan, has also claimed that the state government has decided to acquire lands for the project even before requisite sanction or approval was received from the Centre or the Railway Board.

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Kochi:The Kerala High Court on Tuesday sought the response of the Left government and K-Rail on a plea alleging that the state was carrying out land acquisition proceedings for the semi-high speed rail corridor -- SilverLine -- without sanction of the Centre or other appropriate authorities.

The high court issued notice to the state government and the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd (K-Rail), seeking their stand on the petition, which seeks contempt action against them for violating the assurance given to the court in January that they will proceed with the project only after getting the concurrence from the Centre, Railway Board and other statutory authorities.

The petitioner, M T Thomas, in his contempt plea, claimed that K-Rail, in 'total disregard' of the undertaking given to the court, has invited a tender for an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) study, which has to be completed by January 2023.

The plea, filed through advocate K Mohanakannan, has also claimed that the state government has decided to acquire lands for the project even before requisite sanction or approval was received from the Centre or the Railway Board.

The petitioner's land in Mulakulam grama panchayat in Kottayam district is also proposed to be acquired, the plea has said.

Kerala government's ambitious SilverLine project, which is expected to reduce travel time from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod to around four hours, is being opposed by the Congress-led UDF opposition, which has been alleging that it was "unscientific and impractical" and will put a huge financial burden on the state.

The 532 kilometre stretch from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod would be developed by K-Rail -- a joint venture of the Kerala government and the Railway Ministry for developing railway infrastructure in the southern state.

Starting from the state capital, SilverLine trains will have stoppages at Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur before reaching Kasaragod.

PTI