Kochi: Almost two months after it showed signs of a much-awaited revival, the proposed Angamaly-Sabari rail project seems to be still stuck at a station called 'confusion'.

The Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday made it clear that the work on the project can proceed once the Kerala government starts acquiring land for it. The minister, in his reply to four Congress MPs in Lok Sabha, said the state government has agreed to acquire land using its share of 50 per cent of the project cost. However, it is still unclear when the land acquisition process will begin, as the confusion over the project's status and its financing remains unresolved.

Though the MPs from Kerala had sought the details of the steps taken by the Railways to defreeze the project, the Centre has not given a clear reply. According to sources, the Kerala government's stance is that the land acquisition process could be resumed only after the Centre issues an order to unfreeze the project. The allegation that the state has not submitted the necessary request to issue the 'defreezing order' only adds to the confusion.

The state government, meanwhile, is awaiting a top delegation from the Railways to visit the proposed project site. It was reported that the delegation would visit the state by the end of July and submit a report to the Centre, which would issue the defreeze order. The state government had recently sent a reminder to the Centre as there was no further communication about the site visit.

Borrowing limit dispute
The Union minister's reply states that Kerala, in a memorandum submitted to him on June 3, 2025, has intimated the Centre that it does not agree to enter into the tripartite agreement involving the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the project. The reply states that the state government gave only conditional consent in August 2024 to share the project's cost. The state government had agreed to bear 50 per cent of the cost with the condition that the debt incurred by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) on account of the project should be exempted from the state's borrowing limit. The Union minister's Lok Sabha reply does not mention whether the Centre has agreed to the state's demand or not.

Pathanamthitta MP Anto Antony told Onmanorama that the Union Railway Minister had earlier informed the MPs who met him that the state government had not placed the demand on borrowing limit before the Union finance minister. "The minister told us that he had received such a request from the state government. However, he said the request had to be sent to the finance minister. We will seek clarity on the matter when we meet the minister again," Anto said. He, along with Benny Behanan, Dean Kuriakose and Adoor Prakash, raised the queries to the minister.

Call to clear confusion
While the uncertainty and confusion over the financial terms remain, those involved in the project fear that the Sabari rail might get entangled in the ongoing legal dispute between the Centre and Kerala over borrowing limit. If Kerala's request for exemption for Sabari project is entertained, it could give some advantage to the state in its argument; hence, the Centre might tread cautiously, they fear.

The action council pressing for the rail project has requested the central and state governments to resolve the perceived disputes and implement the project without further delay.

"The state should send the required letter and the Centre should issue the order defreezing the project and sanction the revised estimate. The project can be completed in phases. The stretch from Angamaly to Thodupuzha, where a social assessment study has already been completed, could be considered the first phase. The total cost for land acquisition is estimated to be 30 per cent of the project cost. It comes around ₹1,141 crore of the total ₹3,801 crore. The estimated cost for land acquisition up to Thodupuzha is ₹600 crore. It means the state government can start the project with a minimum investment of ₹600 crore," Jijo Panachinani, the secretary of the action council, told Onmanorama.