Land acquisition delays affect progress of rail projects in Kerala, says Centre

In letter to CM, Ashwini Vaishnaw says despite payment of ₹2,100 crore to State for the required land of about 470 ha, including for the Angamaly-Erumely Sabari project, only 64 ha could be acquired

Exposing the rift between the Kerala government and the Centre over rail development in the State, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has written a strongly worded letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stating that the delay in acquiring land has been significantly hampering the progress of several rail infrastructure projects in Kerala.

Seeking collaborative efforts to expedite land acquisition for key infrastructural projects, the Union Minister said railway infrastructure projects to the tune of ₹12,350 crore were in progress in Kerala, and the highest-ever Budget outlay of ₹3,011 crore had been allocated for the financial year 2024-25. However, most of the railway projects in Kerala were not progressing due to the non-availability of the requisite land.

Railways had initiated efforts for the acquisition of land for most of the sanctioned projects but could not succeed. Despite making payment of more than ₹2,100 crore to the Government of Kerala for the required land of about 470 ha, including for the long-pending Angamaly-Erumely Sabari project, only 64 ha could be acquired. The Union government has given high priority for the expansion of the railway network to provide improved rail facilities as well as socio-economic growth across the country. This will also add immensely to the development of Kerala. 

Rail doubling

Seeking the support of the State government, Mr. Vaishnaw requested the Chief Minister to issue necessary instructions to officers concerned to expedite land acquisition so that execution of the projects such as doubling of rail line on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari stretch, Ernakulam-Kumbalam stretch, and Kumbalam-Turavur stretch, and proposed new line between Angamaly and Sabarimala.

Earlier, the Union Minister and the Chief Minister had locked horns over the delay in executing the Sabari rail project. Replying to a submission in the Parliament session in August, Mr. Vaishnaw had said that the non-cooperation of the State government, including in acquiring land, delayed the project execution. In reply, Mr. Vijayan had retorted that it was the Centre that inordinately delayed the project, resulting in an increase in the implementation cost, which rose from ₹2,815 crore to ₹3,811 crore now.

Published - November 27, 2024 07:25 pm IST