Supreme Court declines to stay SilverLine survey in Kerala

Supreme court | Shutterstock images

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stop stone laying for K-Rail project (SilveLine) as part of the social impact assessment survey, which is facing stiff resistance in Kerala.

Considering a petition filed by Aluva native Sunil J Arakal, the apex court said it cannot intervene in the survey proceedings at present. The court also flayed the Kerala High Court's single-bench order that stayed the survey process.

The division bench of Kerala High Court had, on March 14, quashed a single-bench order which stayed the survey proceedings for the project.

"The state government is vested with adequate powers to conduct the survey, and mark the properties appropriately, for the social impact assessment (SIA) study," the High Court had observed.

Sunil approached the Supreme Court against the division-bench order. In his petition, Sunil argued that the survey proceedings were carried out in violation of the rules laid in the Land Acquisition Act, 2013.

The Kerala government's ambitious SilverLine project, which is expected to reduce travel time from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod to around four hours from 12 at present, is being opposed by the opposition Congress-led UDF.

The UDF contends the SilverLine project was 'unscientific and impractical' and will put a huge financial burden on the state.

The SilverLine project would cover a 530-kilometre stretch from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod and would be developed by K-Rail, a joint venture of the Kerala government and the Ministry of Railways. The semi- high-speed rail line would have 11 stations at an estimated cost of around Rs. 64,000 crore. Critics say the cost would be double that.

Starting from the state capital, SilverLine trains will have stoppages at Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Kochi Airport, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur before reaching Kasaragod.

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