Silverline project: Survey stone-laying work halted by Kerala government

Amid mounting protests over the government’s ambitious Silverline project, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led administration in Kerala dropped the survey stone-laying process and decided to switch to the geo-tagging method to notify the boundaries on Monday, a state revenue department order stated.

The project, also known as K-Rail, connecting one end of the state to the other, is mired in controversy, ever since it was announced two years ago as the state witnessed massive protests concerning its environmental impact.

The revenue department has directed the Kerala Rail Development Corporation (K-Rail), the nodal agency for the project, to do the social impact survey by using the global positioning system, instead of inserting cylindrical-shaped yellow stones on private lands, which triggered widespread protests.

Boundaries are marked as part of the social impact assessment to study compensation and re-settlement packages of the affected. But the K-Rail insisted that there is no other change in the proposed project.

The laying of survey stones was stopped, soon after the Thrikkakra by-election was announced and many equated it with the temporary freeze in fuel prices during elections.

As of now, only 190 kms of the survey has been completed and the remaining will be done with the help of GPS, the state revenue department said in its order.

“We haven’t stopped the survey altogether. If people are willing, survey stones will be laid. We are planning to expedite the process,” said revenue minister K Rajan.

Opposition parties and a section of environmentalists have been opposing the project, saying that 63,941 crores high-speed rail was announced without any serious study and it will pose a huge financial burden and destroy ecologically-sensitive areas.

But the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) or (CPI) M party insisted that it will cut down running time from one end of the state to the other by four hours from the present 12, and will attract enough investments while quick movement will usher in growth.

The Opposition termed the latest development a big scale down and asked the government to withdraw cases against protestors.

“We have notched the first round of victory. We will continue our protest till the government withdraws it completely,” said opposition leader V D Satheesan.

S Rajeevan, the convener of the movement against R Rail, said the project was against the very survival of the state. “Hope the government will see the writing on the wall,” he said.

But last week CM Pinarayi Vijayan reiterated that “come what may, K-Rail will be a reality soon.”

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