Mystery shrouds government's reluctance to provide SilverLine alignment details
The Detailed Project Report (DPR), provided to Anwar Sadath MLA, in response to a question in the State Assembly detailed the alignment of just 115 kilometres.
The Detailed Project Report (DPR), provided to Anwar Sadath MLA, in response to a question in the State Assembly detailed the alignment of just 115 kilometres.
The Detailed Project Report (DPR), provided to Anwar Sadath MLA, in response to a question in the State Assembly detailed the alignment of just 115 kilometres.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Government's initial reluctance to publish the alignment of SilverLine's 415 kilometre stretch from Kottayam to Kasaragod has sparked serious questions about its intentions.
The Detailed Project Report (DPR), provided to Anwar Sadath MLA, in response to a question in the State Assembly detailed the alignment of just 115 kilometres. The document detailing the complete alignment of the 529-kilometre semi-high-speed rail corridor was provided 1.5 months after the MLA had lodged a complaint.
The Legislature Secretariat received the DPR and alignment from the Department of Transport. A senior official at the Legislature Secretariat told Manorama that the DPR provided had not included the alignment of 415 kilometres of the rail corridor.
Incidentally, the managing director of K-Rail earlier explained that the joint venture had handed over the DPR, including the alignment of the entire 529 kilometre project.
The transport department's initial reluctance in providing the alignment of the stretch from Kottayam to Kasaragod has left many baffled. The Opposition has been alleging that the alignment was altered at several placed in central Kerala.
K-Rail and the State government had initially maintained that the DPR was confidential and hence could not be made public. Though Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had promised Anwar Sadath the DPR in October last, the promise was not met.
The DPR was published on the Assembly's website only after Sadath issued a notice for breach of privilege in January.
The MLA lodged another complaint after it was found that the DPR was incomplete and it included the alignment of only 115 kilometres.
Meanwhile, K-Rail's managing director Ajith Kumar V claimed that the transport department had been given the complete DPR, including the alignment of the entire project. The Legislature Secretariat explained that the complete DPR was provided after the MLA complained that the initial one issued was incomplete.