Kochi: The proposed SilverLine rail project was not a special railway project and does not require any sanction from the Railways for the acquisition, survey, measurement and valuation of land, the Ministry of Railways told the Kerala High Court on Friday.
The Railways Ministry made the submission before Justice N Nagaresh on pleas challenging the demarcation of boundaries of land for the project.
The petitioners sought quashing of the government order initiated for the survey and land acquisition for the project.
The petitioners submitted before the court that as per Section 20 (A) of Railways Act, a central notification was required for the acquisition, survey, measurement and valuation of land for any special railway project.
Counsel for the Railways told the court that since the project was not a special one under the Railways Act, the state government could move forward with the survey and acquisition proceeding for the project as per the LARR (Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement) Act.
Railways have also submitted that it had, in fact, given an in-principle nod for the project implemented by Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (K-Rail), a joint venture company between the State government and the Railway Ministry.
The Railways informed the court that the state government has 51 per cent share while it has 49 per cent share in the company.
Meanwhile, the state government submitted that the survey of land was part of the preliminary works ahead of land acquisition.
The court reserved its order on the petitions.
The state government's plan is to connect the 540 kilometre stretch from Thiruvananthapuram in the South to Kasaragod in the north by semi-high speed rail under the SilverLine project which is expected to reduce the travel time between the two ends of the state to around four hours.
The opposition Congress-led UDF and the BJP have stoutly opposed the project citing the huge financial burden it will entail on the state exchequer.
