New Delhi: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has informed the Parliament that the proposed Sabari railway project connecting Angamaly with Erumeli, which was sanctioned way back in 1997-98, is facing hurdles such as land acquisition and non-cooperation by the state government. However, work on preparing the DPR (detailed project report) for the shorter Chengannur-Pampa track is underway, added the Minister.
In his reply to Kerala MP Kodikunnil Suresh in the Lok Sabha and MP Harris Beeran in the Rajya Sabha, Vaishnaw said that public protest also had adversely affected the Sabari rail project.
“K-Rail has prepared a revised estimate for the project at Rs 3726.95 crore, which was submitted to the state government on December 15, 2023, with the recommendation that the state should bear a share of the expenses. But the state is yet inform its decision,” said Vaishnaw.
“Work on the 7-km Angamaly-Kalady and 10-km Kalady-Perumbavoor stretches were started. However, we cannot proceed further,” he said.
The alignment of the proposed Sabari railway track covers Kalady, Perumbavoor, Odakkali, Kothamangalam, Muvattupuzha, Thodupuzha, Kanrinkunnam, Ramapuram, Bharananganam, Chelamattam and Kanjirappally.
Meanwhile, the Indian Railways has given permission to conduct the location survey for the 75-km railway line planned from Chengannur to Pampa, said the Minister. “The alignment of this track is ready and the location survey will enable preparation of the DPR,” said Vaishnaw.
He also said that the failure of the state government to acquire land was the main obstacle for railway development in Kerala. In his response to K C Venugopal’s query regarding the delay in Alappuzha-Ernakulam track doubling work, Vaishnaw said that the state has so far acquired only 62.83 of the 459.54 hectares required for the work. “Even though the Railways grants Rs 2,125.61 crore to Kerala for the purpose, no land has been acquired,” he said.
