Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Government has decided to complete the Social Impact Assessment of the semi high-speed rail corridor or the SilverLine Project within three months once the notification in this regard is issued. The respective District Collectors have already invited tenders for conducting Social Impact Assessment in 11 districts through which the rail line will be laid.
The Revenue Department would issue Gazette notification within one month for the survey after fixing agencies selected for conducting it. The survey is expected to be completed within three months.
The State has decided to conduct the crucial survey hoping that the Central Government would grant permission for the project in the backdrop of the assurance given by the State Government that it would stand guarantee for the bank loan to be secured for the project.
Kerala expressed its readiness in a letter sent to the central government after the latter had refused to back the state's overseas loan bid for Rs 33,700 crore for the planned Rs 64,000-crore, 532-kilometre rail corridor.
The State Government is going ahead with the project by ignoring the protest by the Opposition parties, people to be affected by the proposed rail route and environmentalists. For Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan the project is a prestigious one and he had stated in the Legislative Assembly earlier that it would be implemented at any cost.
It was at the meeting held in New Delhi between Chief Minister and Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav that the Centre had assured granting permission for the project if the State Government stood guarantee for foreign loan.
The State Government expects that the project would get the green signal from the Union Finance Ministry and the Railway Board soon. The Chief Secretary is expected to call on the Railway Board chairman next week to discuss the matter.
The total cost of the project is pegged at Rs 64,000 crore of which Rs 33,700 crore would be overseas loan. Once the permission is granted by the Central Government, the Kerala Railway Development Corporation (K-Rail) will hold discussions with foreign financial agencies for securing loan.
SOCIAL IMPACT STUDY The Social Impact Assessment is basically meant to assess the impact of land acquisition for the project, the number of families to be hit by the project, the number of houses and buildings to be razed and steps needed to reduce the negative impact of the project.
Ahead of the social impact study, the work on demarking the project area by laying stones has begun. The demarcation work is currently going on in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kannur and Kasargod districts.
The demarcation process has been completed in 15 villages. The work has been finished in seven villages in Kannur, three in Thrissur, two in Kollam, two in Ernakulam and one in Thiruvananthapuram.
The work on fixing the boundaries of the proposed rail line will begin soon in the remaining districts of Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha. Special tahsildars have been posted in all the 11 districts for land acquisition work.
