Just days after CPM state secretary M V Govindan unequivocally declared that the LDF government would go ahead with the Silver Line semi-high speed project, a new order issued by the Revenue Department has made it clear that all activities related to land acquisition for the Rs-65,000-crore project have been frozen with immediate effect. Officials deputed for land acquisition work have been recalled.
The order further states that fresh social impact assessment (SIA) activities will begin only after the Centre gives its nod for the project.
The Revenue Department has been retaining the staff required for land acquisition even though it was evident that any further progress would require the Centre's sanction. The latest order is merely an acceptance of the ground reality.
"The staff posted in the LA (land acquisition) units for Silverline Project may be called back immediately and it is requested to submit a specific proposal for redeployment of the staff to other essential projects," Revenue additional chief secretary A Jayathilak says in the order dated November 27.
Further, the order states that "fresh notifications under Section 4 of the LARR (Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement) Act entrusting the SIA Units to conduct Social Impact Assessment study with regard to the acquisition of 1221 Hectares of land of various villages for Semi High Speed Railway Line Project may be done once the approval from Railway Board for the project is received."
In other words, the government has officially decided to put the SilverLine project on hold till the Centre gives its sanction.
Nonetheless, the LDF had till now given the impression that it would defy all odds to implement the project.
Since agencies that were contracted to conduct the SIA were hampered by widespread public protests during the first half of 2022, the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (K-Rail) had recently even submitted a proposal to the Chief Minister asking him to revive the SIA of the project. The Chief Minister had kept the decision pending despite a consensus within the LDF against abandoning the project because the Revenue Department had consistently taken the position that officials deputed for Silverline land acquisition work should be redeployed to ongoing projects that are short of staff.
In May this, at the height of the anti-Silverline agitation, the government had decided to use the Geo-tagging method rather than the controversial planting of K-Rail stumps to mark the boundaries of the project as part of the SIA. This was then seen as a move to push ahead with the project by avoiding confrontation with the public.
Later in August, even when it was clear that the Centre had lost interest in the project, the LDF government had told the High Court that it would go ahead with the land acquisition proceedings for the project.
'Ashamed to admit SilverLine has been abandoned'
Opposition leader VD Satheesan said that the government is ashamed to admit openly that it had abandoned the SilverLine project.
He said that if the project is not abandoned completely, the strike against the project will continue.
At the same time, the Anti-SilverLine Committee said the government should issue an official order to withdraw the project. Government must take action to change the land deal, said Mini K Philip, the committee's district in-charge.