Kochi: Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the Angamaly-Erumely Sabari rail project would be a reality within a year if Kerala gives the land.
The Union Minister gave the assurance during an interview with Manorama.
Excerpts:
The state government has been saying that it would bear half the expenses of the Sabari rail?
They have been just saying, right? If they are committed to the project, let them first acquire the land and hand it over. If the land is handed over, the rail would be built within a year.
I am absolutely disappointed in the case of Kerala. There is not so much difficulty in implementing railway projects in other states. The railway cannot do anything until the state cooperates.
The state government had issued a notification to acquire land for the Nemom terminal, for which you had laid the foundation stone in 2019. But the railway board is yet to give approval even for the estimate?
I will look into that issue. If the budget allocation for the last 10 years is checked, it is clear that the BJP government has given the most allocation to Kerala. While Rs 372 crore was received annually during the UPA regime, now the average allocation is Rs 903 crore.
As a large portion of the budget allocation comes under extra-budgetary resources, there are complaints that this cannot be utilised for land acquisition?
Money is not a hurdle for capital investment. Ready to give as much money needed for land. Rs 2.5 lakh crore is available with the railways for development projects.
Station redevelopment is only happening in North India. Why is it getting delayed in Kerala?
Were the stations like this five years ago? There has been a significant change in the standards of the stations. Several of the development projects are in the stage of giving contracts. Stations, including Thiruvananthapuram, would be developed.
The maximum speed limit of trains in various zones is being raised to 130kmph. To what extent can this be implemented in Kerala?
That issue was not brought up before me. It would be checked if train sets like Vande Bharat can be used.
