Kochi: The Kerala government has decided to renew the land acquisition procedures for the Angamaly-Sabari railway line with the Centre granting approval for the long-pending project.

As a first step, the land acquisition offices, which were shut down following uncertainty about the project, will be reopened. More employees will be appointed in the offices. The decision was taken at a meeting of higher officials chaired by State Minister for Railways V Abdurahiman in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. 

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The minister said that nearly 204 hectares of land are required to be acquired from Ernakulam, Kottayam and Idukki districts for the project. "Of the 152 hectares required in Ernakulam, 24.40 hectares were already acquired. With the visit of a higher officials' team from the Railways, the procedures to start the works on the project can be started," the minister's office said in a statement after the meeting.

Collectors of the three districts, Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd (KRDCL) executive director, Railways Construction Wing chief administrator attended the meeting. 

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The approval for the construction of the rail line connecting Angamaly and the foothills of Sabarimala, the famed pilgrim centre, was announced after a meeting held between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Union Railway and Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in New Delhi recently. The 111.48-km line was proposed in the 1997-98 budget. If implemented, it will be the first line to connect the hilly district of Idukki with the Railways.

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