Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (K-Rail) has refused to divulge the details of the estimated volume of construction material, including sand and stones, to be used for the SilverLine project.
K-Rail's explanation is that such details currently form part of the secretly held Detailed Project Report (DPR); and hence, not to be disclosed.
The stand of K-Rail to not to reveal the details of the volume of construction material to be used for the project comes at a time when strong apprehension is raised by various quarters that the procurement of natural construction material for the project would lead to massive pollution and environmental degradation in the State.
K-Rail authorities have informed that the consulting agency SYSTRA has been entrusted with studying ways to reduce the use of natural construction material for SliverLine work.
K-Rail MD V Ajith Kumar said that since the quarries in Kerala have limitations in meeting such a huge demand for the project, the construction material will also be brought from other States.
The Railways has been requested to grant freight charge concessions for the purpose, he said.
As per the latest plan, meetings, involving the public, will be held in villages as part of the social impact study. Later, large-scale meetings will be held at the district-level.
The SilverLine Project entails the construction of a 530-km dedicated rail corridor to run semi high-speed trains. It is expected to reduce the travel time between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod to around four hours.
