THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former state Congress president Mullappally Ramachandran has written an open letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan highlighting the dangers lurking behind the SilverLine project. While the Congress leadership has been demanding the state government to abandon the SilverLine project, Mullappally has urged that it should not be implemented in haste.
Mullappally has demanded that comprehensive consultations should be held with a cross-section of stakeholders ranging from scientists, experts from socio-political sectors and public. He lamented that the 529.45-km SilverLine project is being implemented without holding any environmental impact studies. The state government should not forget the words of Madhav Gadgil who had warned of further damage to the Western Ghats.
“The SilverLine project requires Rs 1.1 lakh crore for its completion in five years. But engineering experts vouch that it will require a decade to have the project completed which means the project cost will skyrocket further,” said Mullappally.